A new study carried out by the Institute of Labor Economics, revealed that in the first six months of 2023 "Births increased by an average of 2.3% in states that imposed complete abortion bans" (This is equivalent to about 32,000 more births than those registered in the same period of the previous year).
The report highlights that the increase in birth rates is due in part to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade (June 2022). This "led to the most profound transformation of the abortion access landscape in 50 years" and resulted in some states implementing abortion restrictions (which in turn led to more births):
We provide the first estimates of the effects of this decision on fertility using a synthetic pre-registered difference-in-differences design applied to recently published provisional birth data for the first half of 2023. The results indicate that states with abortion bans experienced an average increase in births of 2.3% compared to states where abortion was not restricted.
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The study shows that "the distance that women must travel to access abortion services" (moving to another state) is a determining factor when deciding whether to have an abortion:
Geographic factors also played a role, reflecting the costs and challenges of interstate travel for abortion services.
The researchers highlighted that "in 2020, approximately 1 in 5 pregnancies ended in abortion." It highlights that "75% of patients seeking abortion are low-income, 59% have given birth previously, and 55% report a recent disturbing event in their life, such as falling behind on rent or losing their job."
state
All states that have imposed laws prohibiting abortion have seen an increase in the number of births. These are:
- Alabama : 2.9% more births (1,689 new babies)
- Arkansas : 1.4% (504).
- Idaho : 1.1% (237).
- Kentucky : 3.4% (1,762).
- Louisiana : 3.2% (1,806).
- Mississippi : 4.4% (1,550).
- Missouri : 0.4% (280).
- Oklahoma : 2.6% (1,229).
- South Dakota : 0.8% (87).
- Tennessee : 3.3% (2,573).
- Texas : 5.1% (18,594).
- West Virginia : 3.1% (528).
- Wisconsin : 2.5% (1,503).
Hispanic women and the youngest women (20 to 24 years old) are the ones that have most reflected an increase in birth rates (4.7% and 3.3%, respectively).
