In August 2025, the Mississippi State Department of Health declared a public health emergency in response to a steep increase in infant mortality in the state. The move was inspired largely by 2024 data showing the infant mortality rate increased by 9.7 deaths per 1,000 live births. Unfortunately, this trend isn’t exclusive to Mississippi, as other states, especially those that have made restricted access to abortion care, are seeing increasing infant mortality as well.
Legislative changes are directly to blame for the situation, and now the government is dismantling data collection programs around infant mortality and maternal health that could expose that fact. If we are going to find a solution, we need to examine the policies that got us here and hold lawmakers accountable for the consequences of their actions.
What the Numbers Tell Us
A look at Mississippi’s infant mortality rates by race makes it clear that people of color are disproportionately affected. While the infant mortality rate among the state’s Black, non-Hispanic populations was 15.2 per 1,000 live births in 2024, among the White, non-Hispanic population, it was 5.8 per 1,000 live births. For the Hispanic population, the rate was 6.3 per 1,000; for the other non-Hispanic population, it was 12.3 per 1,000.
Mississippi is not the only state facing a high infant mortality rate. Other states with notably high rates include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. It’s no coincidence that in most of these states, abortion care has been eliminated or severely restricted since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Abortion has been eliminated in Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Meanwhile, abortion is extremely restricted in Georgia and the Carolinas. The only states that have notably high infant mortality rates but where abortion remains broadly accessible are Alaska and Ohio (although Ohio also has some restrictions).
The Disproportionate Dangers of Abortion Bans
Looking at the statistics above, there can no longer be any doubt that the overturn of federal protections for abortion is causing harm. Further, it is marginalized communities that are being affected the most—consider the differences in Mississippi. In general, Black maternal and child mortality rates are the highest in the country when compared to other racial and ethnic groups.
The Mississippi case highlights other sources of disparity as well. Notably, Mississippi is a state where Medicaid pays for nearly 60% of births, a share that is 20% higher than the national average. Social determinants have always led to a lack of equality in healthcare. Abortion bans are making these worse.
Say a person lives in a state where abortion is illegal or extremely restricted. If they want to get an abortion, they need to go elsewhere to get it—that requires having the money, time, and support needed to go out of state. Can they line up child or elder care? Can they take time off work or school? Can they pay for gas, or a flight, and accommodation? If they have the resources to leave that state and seek abortion care elsewhere, they can still get the care they need. If they don’t have those resources, they are left without care.
It’s also important to note the issue of fetal viability, which was previously federally protected under Roe. Fetal diagnoses don’t happen in the first trimester; they generally happen in the second trimester, after the anatomy scan and/or fetal testing. By the time families learn that their pregnancy is affected by a fatal condition, abortion restrictions and bans can leave them stuck. By the time someone learns that survival outside the womb is not possible for the child they will birth, they may have no choice but to continue the pregnancy, go through labor and delivery, and watch their infant die. In this way, there is a direct link between Mississippi’s abortion ban and the spike in infant mortality.
The baseline disparities were always there—Black communities in the South have always faced higher maternal and infant mortality due to poverty, lack of healthcare access, housing instability, and environmental racism. And while this exponential increase is new, it’s not surprising. The abortion ban is delivering on its promise of targeting marginalized communities.
Data Gaps Allow Lawmakers to Dodge Accountability When It’s Needed Most
Lawmakers are directly responsible for the increase in infant mortality rates in states like Mississippi. Yet, just when accountability is most needed, government cuts are ensuring that responsibility can be dodged. Of note: the elimination of the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) program, which collected state-specific and nationwide data on abortion trends, live births, and fertility treatment outcomes.
Policymakers have long used PRAMS to assess the state of maternal and infant health care, and it has served as a valuable tool in preventing maternal deaths, reducing infant mortality, and closing socioeconomic health gaps. By cutting PRAMS, the government is creating data gaps that will allow preventable deaths and disparities to continue unchecked. While some states still have data-collection programs, these can’t replace the power of a national monitoring tool like PRAMS.
You can’t hold lawmakers and leaders accountable for improving conditions if you don’t know what the numbers are. No data means no public pressure, which means no policy change. The ripple effects include lost funding for researchers and institutions studying maternal and infant mortality.
Abortion Bans Are About Much More Than Abortion
When it comes to topics like this, people often try to explain away the resulting injustices as mere collateral damage of Medicaid cuts. In reality, it’s much more complex. There is an overt campaign here to not only take away reproductive rights but also to erase any evidence of the harm that is caused by erasing certain types of data.
This is not just a question of abortion access but of essential tenets of reproductive justice, including the right to bodily autonomy, bear children, not bear children, and parent children in safe and sustainable communities—emphasis on the last part, because right now, the government is acting to make communities less safe and sustainable. Marginalized communities will be the most affected, and that’s exactly who these policies are designed to harm.
