Infant mortality in Texas spiked following state's 'heartbeat bill' abortion ban, study finds

The passage of one of Texas' ultra-restrictive abortion laws precipitated a big increase in infant deaths, according to a study published Monday by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The analysis published in the peer-reviewed JAMA Pediatrics medical journal compared infant deaths in Texas to those in 28 other states — some with abortion restrictions of their own — the year following the implementation of Senate Bill 8. Also known as the Texas Heartbeat Act, SB 8 banned abortions in the Lone Star State after a fetus' heartbeat could be detected.