Abortion Legalization and Childbearing in Mexico

Characteristics of private abortion services in Mexico City after legalization.

In 2007, first trimester abortion was legalized in Mexico City, and the public sector rapidly expanded its abortion services. In 2008, to obtain information on the effect of the law on private sector abortion services, we interviewed 135 physicians working in private clinics, located through an exhaustive search. A large majority of the clinics offered a range of reproductive health services, i...

Abortion, unwanted childbearing, and mental health

Abortion Costs, Separation and Non-Marital Childbearing∗

How do abortion costs affect non-marital childbearing? While greater access to abortion has the first-order effect of reducing childbearing among pregnant women, it could nonetheless lead to unintended consequences via effects on marriage market norms. Single motherhood could rise if lower-cost abortion makes it easier for men to avoid marriage. We identify the effect of abortion costs on separ...

Abortion Care in Nepal, 15 Years after Legalization

Nepal is often heralded as a model of the successful implementation and rapid scale-up of safe abortion services. Prior to 2002, Nepal had very restrictive abortion laws that prosecuted and imprisoned women and their family members for undergoing pregnancy terminations. Up to one-fifth of incarcerated women were convicted for abortion-related crimes.2 Despite the restrictive laws and legal impl...

Effects of Abortion Legalization in Nepal, 2001–2010

BACKGROUND Abortion was legalized in Nepal in 2002, following advocacy efforts highlighting high maternal mortality from unsafe abortion. We sought to assess whether legalization led to reductions in the most serious maternal health consequences of unsafe abortion. METHODS We conducted retrospective medical chart review of all gynecological cases presenting at four large public referral hospi...