Rate of infant heart defects rising in abortion-restrictive states after Dobbs

ByRegina Schaffer

Fact checked byRichard Smith

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Key takeaways:

The incidence of cyanotic congenital heart disease in infants is rising in states with restrictive abortion laws.
The findings suggest a growing health care resource burden in restrictive states.

CHICAGO — The incidence of cyanotic congenital heart disease increased in states with restrictive abortion policies after the Dobbs ruling in 2022, whereas rates remained relatively stable across states with protective abortion policies.

The study, presented at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Session, is the first to assess rates of congenital heart defects since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, according to Stephanie Tseng, MD, a pediatric and fetal cardiologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and assistant professor of pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

Graphical depiction of source quote presented in the article

“This study evaluated the trend of cyanotic [congenital heart disease] births before and after the Dobbs ruling,” Tseng told Healio. “Results of this study demonstrate associations between birth rates of cyanotic [congenital heart disease] and the post-Dobbs era; however, the study was not designed to identify the exact cause of the observed trends.”

The researchers analyzed CDC birth certificate data from 2016 to 2024 and stratified data by two groups using information from the Guttmacher Institute: 20 states with very or the most restrictive abortion policies and nine states with very and the most protective policies. Researchers calculated the incidence of live births with cyanotic congenital heart disease before and after Dobbs in each cohort.

In the restrictive cohort, the incidence of cyanotic congenital heart disease live births increased after Dobbs, whereas the incidence of cyanotic congenital heart disease live births remained relatively stable in the protective cohort. The median monthly overage comparing the expected to observed differences was 9.6 per 100,000 births.

“If these findings are true, then there will be an increasing population of patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease that will require medical care, both early in the neonatal period and over their lifetime, particularly in states with restrictive policies,” Tseng told Healio. “This would likely translate to increased health care costs, resource utilization and need for health care workers.”

Tseng said the continued evaluation and monitoring of the cyanotic congenital heart disease incidence in all states will be important to confirm the study findings.

“Additionally, further research on health care costs and utilization can be performed to fully assess the economic impact of these findings,” Tseng told Healio.