COVID-19 Restrictions Reduced Abortion Clinic Visits, Even in Blue States

Martin Andersen, Sylvia Bryan and David Slusky

No 28058, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, 13 states used elective procedure bans to explicitly restrict access to surgical abortions and an additional 20 states banned all elective procedures, without reference to abortion. In this paper, we study the effects of these state-level bans on visits to abortion clinics. Using a balanced panel of 757 abortion clinics, we find that clinics in states banning elective procedures experienced an 18% reduction in visits, and surgical abortion bans led to a further 9% reduction, entirely from fewer visits to clinics that provided surgical abortions. These restrictions resulted in approximately 18,000 fewer abortions in 2020 compared to 2019, leading to 8400 additional births. The effects of these bans on mobility were not confined to traditionally “red” states but also affected mobility to clinics in “blue” states.

JEL-codes: H75 I18 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea
Note: CH EH PE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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