Pro-life Republicans promised that Texas’ anti-abortion “heartbeat” law would save the lives of babies, but a new study published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics shows that more babies died under the new law, Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB8):
Between 2021 and 2022, infant deaths in Texas increased from 1985 to 2240, or 255 additional deaths. This corresponds to a 12.9% increase, whereas the rest of the US experienced a comparatively lower 1.8% increase…
This study found that Texas’ 2021 ban on abortion in early pregnancy was associated with unexpected increases in infant and neonatal deaths in Texas between 2021 and 2022. Congenital anomalies, which are the leading cause of infant death, also increased in Texas but not the rest of the US.
Alison Gemmill, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health who authored the study, told USA TODAY how the law has failed to save infant lives:
It just points to some of the devastating consequences of abortion bans that maybe people weren’t thinking about when they passed these laws…spillover effects on moms and babies.
Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told USA TODAY that the law was created “to save the innocent unborn, and now thousands of children have been given a chance at life.”
Amy O’Donnell, a spokesperson for Texas Alliance for Life, also defended the law that caused more infant deaths: “In Texas, we celebrate every unborn child’s life saved. We treasure the fact that our laws are protecting women’s lives,”
(Sources: JAMA Pediatrics, USA TODAY via Yahoo)