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The Effect OF Plan B on Teen Abortions: Evidence from the 2006 FDA Ruling

Author

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  • Inna Cintina

    (University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization)

  • Morgen S. Johansen

    (Public Administration Program and Public Policy Center)

Abstract

The 2006 FDA ruling made Plan B, the popular brand of emergency contraception (EC), available without a doctor's prescription to women 18 and older; women younger than 18 still have to produce a doctor's prescription for the drug. We hypothesize that since unplanned pregnancies are more likely to be terminated, an increase in the availability of EC may lead to a decrease in the abortion rate among women affected by the ruling. Therefore, in the absence of a change in the sexual risk taking, we expect to observe a decline in the abortion rate among women aged 18 and 19 after 2006, and expect no change in the abortion rate for women aged 15 and 16. We use the difference-in-difference methodology on the age-by-year-by-state abortion data to test this hypothesis. In contrast to the related literature, we find a moderate reduction in abortion rates among women age 18 and 19 in years after 2006 in states that were affected by the change, compared to changes in the control group in the same states. Yet, we do not observe a similar large change in abortion rates among women age 20-24.

Suggested Citation

  • Inna Cintina & Morgen S. Johansen, 2014. "The Effect OF Plan B on Teen Abortions: Evidence from the 2006 FDA Ruling," Working Papers 201402, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hai:wpaper:201402
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    File URL: http://www.economics.hawaii.edu/research/workingpapers/WP_14-2.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Tal Gross & Jeanne Lafortune & Corinne Low, 2014. "What Happens the Morning After? The Costs and Benefits of Expanding Access to Emergency Contraception," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 70-93, January.
    2. Myers, Caitlin Knowles, 2012. "Power of the Pill or Power of Abortion? Re-Examining the Effects of Young Women's Access to Reproductive Control," IZA Discussion Papers 6661, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Christine Piette Durrance, 2013. "The Effects Of Increased Access To Emergency Contraception On Sexually Transmitted Disease And Abortion Rates," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(3), pages 1682-1695, July.
    4. Girma, Sourafel & Paton, David, 2011. "The impact of emergency birth control on teen pregnancy and STIs," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 373-380, March.
    5. Inna Cintina, 2013. "Behind-the-counter, but Over-the-border? The Assessment of the Geographical Spillover Effect of Increased Access to Emergency Contraception," Working Papers 201319, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    6. Paton, David, 2002. "The economics of family planning and underage conceptions," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 207-225, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hill, Elaine L. & Slusky, David J.G. & Ginther, Donna K., 2019. "Reproductive health care in Catholic-owned hospitals," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 48-62.
    2. Inna Cintina, 2017. "Behind‐the‐Counter, but Over‐the‐Border? The Assessment of the Geographical Spillover Effects of Emergency Contraception on Abortions," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(10), pages 1249-1263, October.
    3. Martha J. Bailey & Jason M. Lindo, 2017. "Access and Use of Contraception and Its Effects on Women’s Outcomes in the U.S," NBER Working Papers 23465, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Abortion; Adolescent; Emergency contraception; Plan B; Event study;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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