Laws Restricting Access to Abortion Services and Infant Mortality Risk in the United States

Overview

Journal Int J Environ Res Public Health

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Environmental Health
Public Health

Date 2020 May 30

PMID 32466506

Citations 10

Authors

Roman Pabayo

Amy Ehntholt

Daniel M Cook

Megan Reynolds

Peter Muennig

Sze Y Liu

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objectives: Since the US Supreme Court's 1973 decision legalizing abortion, states have enacted laws restricting access to abortion services. Previous studies suggest that restricting access to abortion is a risk factor for adverse maternal and infant health. The objective of this investigation is to study the relationship between the type and the number of state-level restrictive abortion laws and infant mortality risk.

Methods: We used data on 11,972,629 infants and mothers from the US Cohort Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Files 2008-2010. State-level abortion laws included Medicaid funding restrictions, mandatory parental involvement, mandatory counseling, mandatory waiting period, and two-visit laws. Multilevel logistic regression was used to determine whether type or number of state-level restrictive abortion laws during year of birth were associated with odds of infant mortality.

Results: Compared to infants living in states with no restrictive laws, infants living in states with one or two restrictive laws (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.08; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.99-1.18) and those living in states with 3 to 5 restrictive laws (AOR = 1.10; 95% CI = 1.01-1.20) were more likely to die. Separate analyses examining the relationship between parental involvement laws and infant mortality risk, stratified by maternal age, indicated that significant associations were observed among mothers aged ≤19 years (AOR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.00-1.19), and 20 to 25 years (AOR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.03-1.17). No significant association was observed among infants born to older mothers.

Conclusion: Restricting access to abortion services may increase the risk for infant mortality.

Citing Articles

US Abortion Bans and Infant Mortality.

Gemmill A, Franks A, Anjur-Dietrich S, Ozinsky A, Arbour D, Stuart E JAMA. 2025; .

PMID: 39946113 PMC: 11826430. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2024.28517.

County-Level Structural Vulnerabilities in Maternal Health and Geographic Variation in Infant Mortality.

Murosko D, Radack J, Barreto A, Passarella M, Formanowski B, McGann C J Pediatr. 2024; 276:114274.

PMID: 39216622 PMC: 11645216. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2024.114274.

States' Abortion Laws Associated With Intimate Partner Violence-Related Homicide Of Women And Girls In The US, 2014-20.

Wallace M, Stoecker C, Sauter S, Vilda D Health Aff (Millwood). 2024; 43(5):682-690.

PMID: 38709960 PMC: 11515949. DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2023.01098.

The association between reproductive rights and access to abortion services and mental health among US women.

Liu S, Benny C, Grinshteyn E, Ehntholt A, Cook D, Pabayo R SSM Popul Health. 2023; 23:101428.

PMID: 37215399 PMC: 10199416. DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101428.

Association Between Rates of Down Syndrome Diagnosis in States With vs Without 20-Week Abortion Bans From 2011 to 2018.

Chaiken S, Mandelbaum A, Garg B, Doshi U, Packer C, Caughey A JAMA Netw Open. 2023; 6(3):e233684.

PMID: 36943268 PMC: 10031387. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.3684.

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