(LifeSiteNews) — A pro-life statistical expert refuted a study’s misleading claims that Texas’ heartbeat abortion ban led to an increase in infant mortality.
JAMA Pediatrics published its study on Monday, the two-year anniversary of the reversal of Roe v. Wade. The American Medical Association publishes the journal, and the organization also supports the abortion of innocent preborn babies.
“This cohort study of 94, 720 recorded infant deaths in Texas and 28 comparison states found that the Texas abortion ban was associated with unexpected increases in infant and neonatal mortality in 2022,” the paper claimed.
The Texas Heartbeat Act prohibits abortions once a heartbeat can be detected, usually around six weeks. The law, signed in May 2021, relies on private enforcement through lawsuits. It withstood state and federal court challenges.
“Congenital anomalies, which are the leading cause of infant death, also increased in Texas but not the rest of the US,” the authors wrote.
The mainstream media predictably picked up the study.
However, social scientist Michael New criticized the misleading claims of the study. He teaches business at the Catholic University of America and is an expert on pro-life laws and polling. “The media is doing a very poor job covering the study, much of the coverage is very misleading,” Professor New told Drew Mariani on Relevant Radio on Wednesday.
He said the media usually just repackages pro-abortion studies into articles without seeking comment from pro-life scholars.
New also noted in his analysis that infant deaths did increase, but that is because more babies were born.
“Because of the TX Heartbeat Act, TX births increased by over 16,000 in 2022,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “When the infant mortality rate (instead of infant deaths) is considered, the increase is less dramatic.”
(2/6) Infant deaths increased in TX. However, this is partly because more babies were born.
Because of the TX Heartbeat Act, TX births increased by over 16,000 in 2022.
When the infant mortality rate (instead of infant deaths) is considered, the increase is less dramatic.
— Michael New (@Michael_J_New) June 25, 2024
“Also, the TX infant mortality rate in 2022 was well within historical norms. The Texas infant mortality rate was 5.75 per thousand births,” Professor New wrote on X. “This is almost identical to the average infant mortality rate in Texas between 2007 and 2020.”
He also noted, as the study did, that “the largest increase in infant deaths was due to increases in congenital conditions.”
But the heartbeat law does not cause more babies to have congenital conditions. “Instead it’s preventing unborn children from being aborted due to their medical condition,” he wrote.
Infant mortality rate is defined as “the number of deaths of children under one year of age, expressed per 1,000 live births,” according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Therefore, it should not be surprising that some babies who would have been aborted for real or perceived medical problems would tragically die naturally within the first year of life.
New also pointed out that JAMA Pediatrics published an editorial the same day titled, “Abortion Bans Harm Not Just Pregnant People [sic] – They Harm Newborns and Infants Too.”
“Public health journals should stick to publishing analytically rigorous research,” he concluded. “They should not serve as mouthpieces for supporters of legal abortion.”
Pro-life group calls out abortion activists for ‘twisting the narrative’
The study also drew criticism from Students for Life of America, which criticized “abortion zealots” for “twisting the narrative.”
“The mainstream media would have us believe otherwise, but abortion doesn’t prevent death,” Kristan Hawkins, president of SFLA, stated in a news release.
“It is intentional death. The difference between abortion and natural death is the location and the actions of parents and ‘healthcare’ providers,” she stated.
“The Texas Heartbeat Protection Law gave children in the womb the chance to live and feel the embrace of their parents.”
READ: Dr. New discusses post-Dobbs pro-life movement goals with Jonathan Van Maren