The overturn of Roe v. Wade with the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision has paved the way for legislation across the country to restrict reproductive health care. A pair of new studies shows the fallout of restrictive reproductive healthcare policies: More babies were born in states that enacted abortion bans between 2021 and 2023, and infant mortality also rose in these states.
In states that enacted total or six-week abortion bans, there was a 1.7% increase in births between 2021 and 2023, corresponding to 22,000 excess births, according to a study published today in JAMA. Across the same time period, states that enacted bans also experienced a 6% increase in infant mortality, corresponding to 500 excess deaths, the same group reported in a companion study.
