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COVID-19 Surgical Abortion Restriction Did Not Reduce Visits to Abortion Clinics

Author

Listed:
  • Andersen, Martin

    (University of North Carolina, Greensboro)

  • Bryan, Sylvia

    (University of Kansas)

  • Slusky, David

    (University of Kansas)

Abstract

Due to COVID-19, 33 states banned elective medical procedures, and 13 of these states included surgical abortions. We collected street addresses of abortion clinics and linked them to SafeGraph's data on counts of visitors. We found a 32 percent decrease in clinics visits in February-May of 2020 compared to 2019. States that banned elective procedures saw an additional 23 percent decrease in visits. However, there was no significant additional decrease in the states that explicitly banned surgical abortions. We estimate that the decrease in foot traffic over these four months reduced abortions by 9 percent in 2020 relative to 2019.

Suggested Citation

  • Andersen, Martin & Bryan, Sylvia & Slusky, David, 2020. "COVID-19 Surgical Abortion Restriction Did Not Reduce Visits to Abortion Clinics," IZA Discussion Papers 13832, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13832
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Myers, Caitlin & Ladd, Daniel, 2020. "Did parental involvement laws grow teeth? The effects of state restrictions on minors’ access to abortion," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
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    3. Joanna Venator & Jason Fletcher, 2021. "Undue Burden Beyond Texas: An Analysis of Abortion Clinic Closures, Births, and Abortions in Wisconsin," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(3), pages 774-813, June.
    4. Schwandt, Hannes, 2017. "The Lasting Legacy of Seasonal Influenza: In-Utero Exposure and Labor Market Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 10589, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Allcott, Hunt & Boxell, Levi & Conway, Jacob & Gentzkow, Matthew & Thaler, Michael & Yang, David, 2020. "Polarization and public health: Partisan differences in social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    6. Slusky, David J.G., 2017. "Defunding women’s health clinics exacerbates Hispanic disparity in preventive care," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 61-64.
    7. Jason M. Lindo & Caitlin Knowles Myers & Andrea Schlosser & Scott Cunningham, 2020. "How Far Is Too Far? New Evidence on Abortion Clinic Closures, Access, and Abortions," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 55(4), pages 1137-1160.
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    Cited by:

    1. Charles J. Courtemanche & Anh H. Le & Aaron Yelowitz & Ron Zimmer, 2021. "School Reopenings, Mobility, and COVID-19 Spread: Evidence from Texas," NBER Working Papers 28753, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Cantor, Jonathan & Sood, Neeraj & Bravata, Dena M. & Pera, Megan & Whaley, Christopher, 2022. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and policy response on health care utilization: Evidence from county-level medical claims and cellphone data," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Fernanda Marquez-Padilla & Biani Saavedra, 2022. "The unintended effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders on abortions," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 35(1), pages 269-305, January.
    4. Shooshan Danagoulian & Thomas A. Wilk, 2022. "Locking out prevention: Dental care in the midst of a pandemic," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(9), pages 1973-1992, September.
    5. Dena Bravata & Jonathan H. Cantor & Neeraj Sood & Christopher M. Whaley, 2021. "Back to School: The Effect of School Visits During COVID-19 on COVID-19 Transmission," NBER Working Papers 28645, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    abortion; social distancing; elective surgery; COVID-19;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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