The Influence of Abortion Law on the Frequency of Pregnancy Terminations—A Retrospective Comparative Study

Kornelia Zaręba, Stanisław Wójtowicz, Jolanta Banasiewicz, Krzysztof Herman and Grzegorz Jakiel
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Kornelia Zaręba: 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, 01-004 Warsaw, Poland
Stanisław Wójtowicz: Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Communication, Medical University of Warsaw, 00-581 Warsaw, Poland
Jolanta Banasiewicz: Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Communication, Medical University of Warsaw, 00-581 Warsaw, Poland
Krzysztof Herman: 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, 01-004 Warsaw, Poland
Grzegorz Jakiel: 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, 01-004 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 8, 1-11

Abstract: Abortion law is one of the main factors influencing the number of abortions performed in a country. The study aimed to assess the influence of abortion law on the number of performed terminations with particular attention paid to pregnancy terminations due to fetal defects. The retrospective comparative analysis of statistical data included on the governmental websites of Poland and the UK was performed. The average of 190,733.1 terminations were performed in the United Kingdom in the years 2009–2018 with the average of 2820.9 due to fetal defects. At the same time the average of 858.6 terminations were performed in Poland with 820.7 due to fetal defects. Population size is the only significant predictor of the number of terminations in the United Kingdom. The increase in the number of deliveries and population in Poland was not linked to the increase in the overall number of terminations or terminations due to fetal defects. It might be due to the unavailability of pregnancy terminations in many places. The radicalization of abortion law exerts no influence on the decrease in the number of terminations due to fetal indications. The liberalization of abortion law promotes the increase in the number of terminations due to social indications.

Keywords: pregnancy termination; abortion; abortion law (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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