Source: John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
June 29, 2023
catholicworldreport.com
Researchers use statistical modeling to estimate the number of live births expected if one of the country’s most stringent state abortion laws had not been enacted.
In a peer-reviewed research letter published online today in JAMA, researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health estimate that a Texas abortion ban that went into effect in September 2021 was associated with 9,799 additional live births in the state between April and December 2022.
The measure, Texas Senate Bill 8, banned abortions as early as five weeks after the start of a patient’s last menstrual cycle—effectively banning abortion in the state, with very limited exceptions. Previously, Texas had allowed abortions up to 22 weeks gestation for any indication.
Researchers expect the number of abortion procedures to drop and live births to increase when abortion restrictions go into effect within a state, but do not know to what extent for some time. A 2022 study, also published in JAMA, estimated that abortions provided to pregnant Texas residents in facilities in Texas or in one of six adjacent states decreased by 38 percent—2,171 fewer abortions—in the month after the Texas abortion ban went into effect.
The new study is thought to be the first to examine how the Texas abortion ban may have impacted live births in the state.
... Read the rest at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
