REMINDER: Thanks to Ted Cruz, Reproductive Health Care Restrictions Threaten Women and Infants in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas – Last night during the vice presidential debate between Governor Tim Walz and JD Vance, Walz mentioned Texas’s disturbing spike of infant mortality rates and maternal mortality in Texas after Ted Cruz got Roe v. Wade overturned, letting Texas Republicans pass Senate Bill 8.

Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa released the following statement: 

“Since Ted Cruz got us into a near-total abortion ban, researchers have been sounding the alarm of the devastating consequences of their uncompromising agenda. Maternal and infant mortality rates are skyrocketing, but Texas Republican leaders like Abraham George can no longer deny basic reality. The truth is that they created this health crisis and we won’t stand for it. As Ted Cruz rips reproductive protections away from women across the state, we know that a better future is possible.

“We don’t have to live under their extreme agenda. This November, Texans have the opportunity to elect leaders like Colin Allred, Michelle Vallejo, and Democrats up and down the ballot who will protect our freedoms.” 

Read below how researchers are raising the alarm on rising infant mortality rates in Texas after Trump’s abortion bans went into effect:

NBC News: A Dramatic Rise in Pregnant Women Dying in Texas After Abortion Ban

By Erika Edwards, Zinhle Essamuah, and Jason Kane

Key Point: “Texas law now prohibits all abortion except to save the life of the mother… The SB 8 effect, Cohen’s team found, was swift and stark. Within a year, maternal mortality rose in all racial groups studied. Among Hispanic women, the rate of women dying while pregnant, during childbirth or soon after increased from 14.5 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2019 to 18.9 in 2022. Rates among white women nearly doubled — from 20 per 100,000 to 39.1. And Black women, who historically have higher chances of dying while pregnant, during childbirth or soon after, saw their rates go from 31.6 to 43.6 per 100,000 live births. While maternal mortality spiked overall during the pandemic, women dying while pregnant or during childbirth rose consistently in Texas following the state’s ban on abortion, according to the Gender Equity Policy Institute.”

Washington Post: “Infant death rate spiked in Texas after restrictive abortion law, study finds”

Key Point:  “Infant deaths from fetal abnormalities, the leading cause of death for babies under a year of age, rose by 22.9 percent in Texas in 2022 but fell by 3.1 percent for the rest of the country, the study found. Infant deaths from unintentional injuries also increased by 20.7 percent in Texas in the same period, compared to 1.1 percent nationally.”

Jezebel: New Data Shows Texas Maternal Mortality Jumped 56% After Its Abortion Ban Took Effect

Key Point: “The data, analyzed by the Gender Equity Policy Institute, also showed glaring racial disparities. The maternal mortality rate among white women in the state doubled from 20 deaths per 100,000 to 39.1. Among Black women, who have long suffered from disproportionately high maternal mortality, the maternal mortality rate spiked from 31.6 to 43.6 per 100,000 live births. “There’s only one explanation for this staggering difference in maternal mortality. All the research points to Texas’ abortion ban as the primary driver of this alarming increase,” Nancy L. Cohen, president of the GEPI, told NBC. Cohen added that Texas is likely “a harbinger of what’s to come in other states.”

The Guardian: ‘One death is too many’: abortion bans usher in US maternal mortality crisis

Key Point: “In the year following Texas’s abortion ban, child mortality shot up by 12.9% – compared with a 1.8% increase in the rest of the country, according to a recent study. Congenital anomalies are the leading cause of infant death in the US – but while they went down by 3.1% in the rest of the country, they went up by 22.9% in Texas.”

AP: “Infant mortality rate rose 8% in wake of Texas abortion ban, study shows”

Key Point: “In Texas, the 2022 mortality rate for infants went up 8% to 5.75 per 1,000 births, compared to a 2% increase in the rest of the U.S., according to the study in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. Among causes of deaths, birth defects showed a 23% increase, compared to a decrease of about 3% in the rest of the U.S. The Texas law blocks abortions after the detection of cardiac activity, usually five or six weeks into pregnancy, well before tests are done to detect fetal abnormalities.”

CNN: “Link found in Texas between rising infant mortality and state’s abortion restrictions”

Key Point: “This study provides some of the first empirical evidence on the association of restrictive abortion policies with infant deaths by using population-based data and a rigorous causal inference technique,’ the authors wrote. ‘Although replication and further analyses are needed to understand the mechanisms behind these findings, our results indicate that restrictive abortion policies may have important unintended consequences in terms of trauma to families and medical cost.’”

NBC News: “Texas abortion ban linked to 13% increase in infant and newborn deaths”

Key Point: “Lawmakers passed Texas Senate Bill 8, or SB8, in September 2021. The state law banned abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as five weeks. This effectively banned abortion in the state, which used to allow abortion up to 22 weeks of pregnancy. The law did not include exemptions for congenital anomalies, including conditions that will cause a newborn to die soon after birth.” 

Axios: “Study links spike in infant deaths to Texas abortion ban”

Key Point: “The study authors said their findings are relevant since other states enacted similar strict bans after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade that compel women to continue pregnancies or overcome significant hurdles to obtain abortion care out of state.”