(WASHINGTON) — New research shows the far-reaching effects of the abortion bans that have proliferated the United States since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Three new studies have provided some of the first nationwide data on the effects of those bans in the states where they are currently active — revealing more births but also a rise in infant deaths.
The impact of those bans have even spread to states where abortion is still legal, the studies showed.
In the first study, Johns Hopkins researchers found that birth rates rose 1.7% in states with abortion bans. It showed that the bans primarily affect racial minorities, younger individuals and those with lower income or education, especially in the South.
“Those experiencing the greatest structural disadvantages and in the states amongst the worst in maternal and child health outcomes experience the greatest impact of these abortion bans on the number of live births,” Suzanne Bell, PhD, MPH, the paper’s lead author and an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told ABC News.
“Many of these occurred in states with among the weakest social services and worst outcomes, potentially deepening existing disparities and placing additional burdens on already strained resources,” she said.
At the same time, infant deaths rose in states with abortion bans, according to another Johns Hopkins study. Analyzing birth and death records from 2012 to 2023, Bell’s team noted 478 more infant deaths than expected in 14 states with the bans. The highest increases were seen in Black infants (about an 11% higher death rate), infants in Southern states and infants born with severe medical conditions.
“When you look at Texas’ contribution to the overall findings, we see that Texas is responsible for 73% of the additional births and 80% of the excess infant deaths,” Bell said.
But states without bans have also felt the effects.
Abortion also rose in Colorado, a state that maintained access to abortion with no gestational limits, according to a research letter recently published in JAMA Network Open.
Colorado State University researchers found that abortions for out-of-state residents in Colorado rose from 13% in 2020 to 30% in 2023. Abortions among Colorado residents also peaked six months after Texas’ abortion ban, with an 11% increase in first-trimester abortions and an 83% increase in second-trimester abortions compared to before the ban.
The surge in demand led to delays, possibly raising costs, emotional toll and procedure complexity, the authors said. However, second-trimester abortions have since stabilized, possibly due to expanded telehealth, self-managed abortions and access in other states, they added.
Currently, abortion is illegal in 12 states, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, and 29 states have some sort of abortion limitation based on gestational age. Nine states have no restriction on abortion.
“The literature we have demonstrates that not being able to obtain an abortion has negative physical, mental and economic implications for birthing persons, their children and their families — and undermines achieving health equity,” Bell said. “These bans are deepening or worsening some of these existing population health disparities that exist.”
Jessica Yang, DO, is a family medicine resident at Main Line Health Bryn Mawr Hospital and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
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