American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
The Impact of Legal Abortion on Maternal Mortality
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 16,
no. 3, August 2024
(pp. 174–216)
Abstract
Legal abortion has recently been suggested as an essential health care service. In this study, we consider whether abortion legalization over 1969–1973 improved women's health as measured by maternal mortality. Our event study results indicate that legal abortion substantially lowered non-White maternal mortality by 30–50 percent, with 134 non-White maternal deaths averted nationally in the first year abortion became legal. We also find that early state-level legalizations were crucial and more influential than the Roe v. Wade decision itself.Citation
Farin, Sherajum Monira, Lauren Hoehn-Velasco, and Michael F. Pesko. 2024. "The Impact of Legal Abortion on Maternal Mortality." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 16 (3): 174–216. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20220208Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I12 Health Behavior
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- K10 Basic Areas of Law: General (Constitutional Law)
- K38 Human Rights Law; Gender Law; Animal Rights Law
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