A recent study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has determined that 22,000 additional babies were born as a result of abortion bans in 14 states following the historic 2022 Dobbs decision.
JAMA researchers analyzed state-level fertility before and after the implementation of abortion bans, comparing trends to states without such restrictions. The study, which examined 12 years of data (2012-2023), indicates that states enforcing abortion bans experienced higher fertility rates than would have been expected without these policies.
Michael New, assistant professor of practice at the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America and a senior associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, called the report “good news” in an article for National Review.
“It is heartening to see an analytically rigorous study demonstrate the lifesaving effects of pro-life laws,” wrote New.
New, however, noted that the JAMA study probably understates the impact of some recent pro-life policy changes because it only considered state abortion bans and heartbeat acts, overlooked temporary pro-life laws in states like Ohio and South Carolina, and did not account for how ongoing litigation may have deterred abortion services in states where it remained legal.
The JAMA research also claimed that there was a 6% increase in infant mortality from 2021 through 2023. In an interview with Tony Perkins on Washington Watch, New challenged those findings, saying that longer-term data into 2024 indicated a decrease in mortality rates.
Overall, “pro-lifers should take heart,” wrote New in his National Review article. “A growing body of research is showing that recently enacted pro-life laws are, in fact, saving thousands of lives.”
Mary Szoch, director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council, also found the results of the JAMA study to be uplifting.
“The over 22,000 babies that were born as a result of pro-life laws are such a gift to our country and our world,” Szoch told The Washington Stand. “Think of the lives those sweet little ones will impact and the joy they will bring! No one can imagine the potential that every single human being has — in saving these babies, these pro-life laws have completely changed the future of America for the better. Praise God!”
While the data from the JAMA study indicating the correlation between babies and pro-life laws is certainly a reason to rejoice, pro-life advocates understand that legislation is not merely enough. In his latest book, The Alternative to Abortion: Why We Must Be Pro Abundant Life, Care Net President and CEO Roland Warren exhorts readers to expand their vision beyond the political realm and consider God’s design for family and God’s call to discipleship.
“From a Christian perspective, the life issue is not primarily about political engagement or material support. It’s about something greater,” he writes. “As Christians we should not be comfortable declaring victory simply when a baby is born rather than aborted. It seems shortsighted to count it a win for a woman to deliver a baby and then immediately become a single mother dependent on social services support. It’s transactional. Yes, we’ve saved a life. But based on statistics, that child is at risk for some of the most intractable social ills…Without a vision for and model of God’s design for the family, the pro-life movement lacks the power to break the cycle.”