US infant death rates for 1960 to 1980 declined most quickly in (1) 1970 to 1973 in states that legalized abortion in 1970, especially for infants in the lowest 3 income quintiles (annual percentage change = −11.6; 95% confidence interval = −18.7, −3.8), and (2) the mid-to-late 1960s, also in low-income quintiles, for both Black and White infants, albeit unrelated to abortion laws. These results imply that research is warranted on whether currently rising restrictions on abortions may be affecting infant mortality.
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Authors: Nancy Krieger, Sofia Gruskin, Nakul Singh, Mathew V. Kiang, Jarvis T. Chen, Pamela D. Waterman, Jillian Gottlieb, Jason Beckfield, Brent A. Coull
Published By: American Journal of Public Health
Date: April 1, 2015
Publication Link: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302401?journalCode=ajph
