AUSTIN, Texas — Senate Bill 8, or the Texas Heartbeat Bill, went into effect in 2021, before the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in a case that effectively overturned Roe v. Wade.
The SCOTUS decision put abortion rights in the hands of state lawmakers.
30 days after the SCOTUS ruling, Texas’ Human Life Protection Act was enforced, banning abortion at conception.
Texas’ abortion policies are known as some of the most restrictive in the country.
But a study released Monday by JAMA Pediatrics shows, newborn and infant deaths in Texas have increased 12.9% since the abortion ban took effect.
The study revealed, that more babies have died before their first birthday– likely due to birth defects or genetic problems that wouldn’t have allowed them to live.
Typically, these pregnancies would be terminated by abortion, but Texas’ abortion policies do not allow that; making mothers legally obligated to carry those babies to term, even with the possibility of still-borns.
“We don’t apologize for a stand that we do not believe it’s right to discriminate against babies with a disability diagnosis by saying they’re better off aborted,” said Texas Alliance for Life spokeswoman, Amy O’Donnell.
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O’Donnell said everyone deserves a chance at life, even if the diagnosis says otherwise, “we know that sometimes those diagnoses are wrong.”
She added, “It is heartbreaking to think that there are any families out there who abort babies based on a diagnosis that is not even accurate.”
But Taylor Edwards received a diagnosis that was right.
Her child conceived via IVF in November of 2022, didn’t stand a chance at life.
“Instead of being offered healthcare right then and there, I was forced to leave the state with no information and to scour the internet to try to understand what was happening,” said Edwards.
She added, “You shouldn’t have to live in fear when you’re going through something so traumatic.”
The JAMA study estimates, there were 216 excess infant deaths in Texas, that most likely would not have happened– had the state’s abortion ban not been in place.
Republican Senator, Ted Cruz, has previously touted the ban, saying he’s worked to protect the lives of infants, “I am strongly pro-life, I also believe in the rights of the voters.”
Colin Allred, a democrat challenging Senator Cruz for his seat this November, said in a press conference Monday, “We can restore Texas freedoms, where we can reinstate Roe v. Wade, and go back to the standard that we’ve had for the last 50 years in this country.”
The JAMA study only reviewed their findings from 2021-2022.