AIDing contraception: HIV and recent trends in abortion |
| |
Authors: | Andrew Hussey Jay Walker |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. Department of Economics, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA;2. Department of Commerce, School of Business Administration, Niagara University, Lewiston, NY 14109, USA |
| |
Abstract: | Using a difference-in-differences estimation framework and state-level data, we investigate the potential role of HIV/AIDS in contributing to declining abortion utilization in the United States. Our results suggest that the perceived risk of HIV contraction negatively affected unwanted pregnancies. Specifically, a 10% increase in HIV incidence is associated with 0.34–1.1% fewer abortions per live births, an effect that can account for at least one-tenth of the sharp decline in abortions observed from the early 1980s to mid-1990s. |
| |
Keywords: | abortions HIV/AIDS fertility |
|
|