Abortion bans have increased both births and infant mortality (JAMA)

 Not unexpectedly:

US Abortion Bans and Infant Mortality, by Alison Gemmill, PhD1; Alexander M. Franks, PhD2; Selena Anjur-Dietrich, PhD1; et alAmy Ozinsky, BS1; David Arbou r, PhD3; Elizabeth A. Stuart, PhD4; Eli Ben-Michael, PhD5; Avi Feller, PhD6; Suzanne O. Bell, PhD1  JAMA. Published online February 13, 2025. doi:10.1001/jama.2024.28517

"Findings  This analysis of US national vital statistics data from 2012 through 2023 found higher than expected infant mortality in states after adoption of abortion bans (observed vs expected, 6.26 vs 5.93 per 1000 live births; relative increase, 5.60%). Estimated increases were relatively larger among infants who were Black, had congenital anomalies, or were born in southern states.

Meaning  Abortion bans were associated with increases in infant mortality. These increases were larger for populations that already experienced higher than average rates of infant mortality." 

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There's also an accompanying editorial:

Abortion May Be Controversial—Supporting Children and Families Need Not Be  by Alyssa Bilinski  JAMA. Published online February 13, 2025. doi:10.1001/jama.2025.0854
 

"In this issue of JAMA, 2 articles characterize the impact of recent state abortion restrictions.1,2 Applying observational causal inference methods, the authors estimate a 1.7% increase in birth rates from abortion restrictions in affected states (corresponding to about 22 000 excess births) and a 6% increase in infant mortality (about 500 excess deaths) from 2021 to 2023.1,2 Excess births occurred disproportionately among racially and ethnically minoritized, low-income, and unmarried individuals.1 Among births linked to abortion bans, infant mortality rates were about 4 times higher than rates in the general population.2 The authors note that this likely resulted both as a consequence of abortion bans requiring pregnant individuals to carry fetuses with lethal abnormalities to term and from excess births occurring disproportionately among individuals at high risk for complications. "