New Evidence on the Effects of Mandatory Waiting Periods for Abortion / Jason M. Lindo, Mayra Pineda-Torres.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lindo, Jason M.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Pineda-Torres, Mayra.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w26228.

NBER working paper series no. w26228

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2019.

Summary:

Beyond a handful of studies examining early-adopting states in the early 1990s, little is known about the causal effects of mandatory waiting periods for abortion. In this study we evaluate the effects of a Tennessee law enacted in 2015 that requires women to make an additional trip to abortion providers for state-directed counseling at least 48 hours before they can obtain an abortion. Our difference-in-differences and synthetic-control estimates indicate that the introduction of the mandatory waiting period caused a 48-73 percent increase in the share of abortions obtained during the second trimester. Our analysis examining overall abortion rates is less conclusive but suggests a reduction caused by the waiting period. Putting these estimates into context, our back-of-the-envelope calculations indicate that Tennessee's MWP increased the monetary costs of obtaining an abortion by as much as $929 for some women.

Notes:

Print version record

September 2019.