The proposed research will use individual vital records on births and induced abortions to estimate the effect of parental involvement laws and Medicaid eligibility expansions on the likelihood that a pregnancy is carried to birth. Variation across states in the timing and extent of these legislative changes provides a set of natural experiments from which to assess the impact of these policies on reproductive decisions. A distinguishing feature of the proposed study is the use of vital records on individual pregnancies from 1986 through 1992 in eight states that report induced terminations to the National Center for Health Statistics. It avoids the severe under reporting of induced terminations characteristic of national surveys by including only individuals from states in which the total number of abortions as reported to the National Center for Health Statistics is within plus or minus ten percent of totals reported by the Alan Guttmacher Institute. The proposed study will also analyze the effect of abortion provider availability on pregnancy resolution. Provider availability is measured by actual travel time and travel distance to the nearest in-state and out-of-state providers. Specific questions the research will address are as follows: 1) How much does the probability that a minor terminates a pregnancy change after parental involvement laws are enacted? Does the effect of the law vary with the restrictiveness? Does the probability that a minor will obtain an abortion outside her state-of-residence increase with the passage of parental involvement laws? 2) Do expansions in Medicaid eligibility increase the likelihood that a pregnancy results in a live birth? Do changes in the probability of carrying to term vary with the magnitude of the Medicaid expansion? 3) How important is the availability of abortion providers to the individual s decision to terminate a pregnancy? More specifically, does greater travel time and travel distance to an abortion provider increase the likelihood that a pregnancy is carried to term? Does the effect of distance to a provider on pregnancy resolution differ by age and educational attainment?
| Joyce, T; Kaestner, R; Kwan, F (1998) Is Medicaid pronatalist? The effect of eligibility expansions on abortions and births. Fam Plann Perspect 30:108-13, 127 |
| Joyce, T; Kaestner, R (1996) State reproductive policies and adolescent pregnancy resolution: the case of parental involvement laws. J Health Econ 15:579-607 |
| Joyce, T; Kaestner, R (1996) The effect of expansions in Medicaid income eligibility on abortion. Demography 33:181-92 |
