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What Happens the Morning After? The Costs and Benets of Expanding Access to Emergency Contraception

Author

Listed:
  • Tal Gross
  • Jeanne Lafortune
  • Corinne Low

Abstract

Emergency contraception (EC) can prevent pregnancy after sex, but only if taken within 72 hours of intercourse. Over the past 15 years, access to EC has been expanded at both the state and federal level. This paper studies the impact of those policies. We find that expanded access to EC has had no statistically significant effect on birth or abortion rates. Expansions of access, however, have changed the venue in which the drug is obtained, shifting its provision from hospital emergency departments to pharmacies. We find evidence that this shift may have led to a decrease in reports of sexual assault.

Suggested Citation

  • Tal Gross & Jeanne Lafortune & Corinne Low, 2012. "What Happens the Morning After? The Costs and Benets of Expanding Access to Emergency Contraception," Documentos de Trabajo 425, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
    • Handle: RePEc:ioe:doctra:425
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    File URL: https://www.economia.uc.cl/docs/doctra/dt-425.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Elizabeth Oltmans Ananat & Daniel M. Hungerman, 2007. "The Power of the Pill for the Next Generation," NBER Working Papers 13402, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Claudia Goldin & Lawrence F. Katz, 2002. "The Power of the Pill: Oral Contraceptives and Women's Career and Marriage Decisions," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(4), pages 730-770, August.
    7. Melissa S. Kearney & Phillip B. Levine, 2009. "Subsidized Contraception, Fertility, and Sexual Behavior," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(1), pages 137-151, February.
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    9. Thomas J. Kane & Douglas Staiger, 1996. "Teen Motherhood and Abortion Access," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(2), pages 467-506.
    10. Martha J. Bailey, 2006. "More Power to the Pill: The Impact of Contraceptive Freedom on Women's Life Cycle Labor Supply," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(1), pages 289-320.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Clarke, Damian & Salinas, Viviana, 2020. "Access to The Emergency Contraceptive Pill Improves Women's Health: Evidence from Chile," IZA Discussion Papers 13134, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Nuevo-Chiquero, Ana & Pino, Francisco J., 2019. "To Pill or Not to Pill? Access to Emergency Contraception and Contraceptive Behaviour," IZA Discussion Papers 12076, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Fischer, Stefanie & Royer, Heather & White, Corey, 2018. "The impacts of reduced access to abortion and family planning services on abortions, births, and contraceptive purchases," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 43-68.
    4. Deza, Monica, 2019. "Graduated driver licensing and teen fertility," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 51-62.
    5. Inna Cintina & Morgen S. Johansen, 2014. "The Effect of Plan B on Teen Abortions: Evidence From the 2006 FDA Ruling," Working Papers 2014-1, University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, University of Hawaii at Manoa, revised Jun 2014.
    6. Stefanie Fischer & Heather Royer & Corey White, 2017. "The Impacts of Reduced Access to Abortion and Family Planning Services: Evidence from Texas," Working Papers 1705, California Polytechnic State University, Department of Economics.
    7. Inna Cintina & Morgen S. Johansen, 2015. "The Effect Of Plan B On Teen Abortions: Evidence From The 2006 Fda Ruling," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 33(3), pages 418-433, July.
    8. Pfeifer, Gregor & Stockburger, Mirjam, 2023. "The morning after: Prescription-free access to emergency contraceptive pills," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    9. Barton Willage & Marisa Carlos & Kevin Callison, 2023. "Non‐monetary obstacles to medical care: Evidence from postpartum contraceptives," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(4), pages 1045-1064, September.
    10. Jennifer Trudeau, 2016. "The role of new media on teen sexual behaviors and fertility outcomes—the case of 16 and Pregnant," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 82(3), pages 975-1003, January.
    11. Damian Clarke, 2018. "Children And Their Parents: A Review Of Fertility And Causality," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 518-540, April.
    12. 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

    Desalination; Emergency contraception; Fertility; Abortion; Sexual assault;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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