Whose Choice? State Legislation and the Incidence of Abortion

Abstract

Although the incidence of abortion in the U.S. has declined, laws restricting abortion access have grown more prevalent. At the same time, laws meant to categorize fetuses in utero as victims of crime have increased and been at the center of contentious political discourse. There is a depth of research on individual predictors of abortion and the impact abortion restrictions have on state abortion rates. However, there is a lack of analysis that evaluates the influence of fetal protection laws on abortion. This study examines the impact of state fetal protection legislation and abortion restrictions on state abortion rates. Using original panel data from all 50 states for 2001-2015, I test whether changes in state policy are associated with changes in state abortion rates. Using fixed- and hybrid-effect models, I find that implementation of certain fetal protection policies (those that require women suspected of using drugs during pregnancy be reported) are associated with decreases in the abortion rate within states. In contrast, increases in policy restricting abortion access are associated with increases in abortion within states. This analysis suggests current state policies have unintended consequences, and may push women into making decisions they might otherwise forego rather than protecting them from harm.