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    New Study Concludes That 32,000 More Live Births Have Taken Place After Fall Of Roe v Wade

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    Following the fall of Roe V Wade, many wondered what the effect would be on birth rates in America and on other socio-economic factors that could be externalities from the decision. According to a new study, the fall of the right to abortion has led to 32,000 new births in America in the time since.

    The study, titled “The Effects of the Dobbs Decision on Fertility,” was penned by Daniel Dench, Mayra Pineda-Torres, and Caitlin Myers. The study set out to find whether the decision to allow states to once again regulate abortion made any statistically significant difference in birth rates. Below is the abstract from the study.

    “The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization sparked the most profound transformation of the landscape of abortion access in 50 years. We provide the first estimates of the effects of this decision on fertility using a pre-registered synthetic difference-in-differences design applied to newly released provisional natality data for the first half of 2023. The results indicate that states with abortion bans experienced an average increase in births of 2.3 percent relative to states where abortion was not restricted.”

    The study went on to explain that within just a short period of half a year after the Supreme Court’s decision, states were already seeing a dramatic uptick in the number of births, to the tune of 2.3%. The study even goes on to imply causality, saying that the additional births are thought to have resulted from the abortion bans.

    The study explained, “Our primary analysis indicates that in the first six months of 2023, births rose by an average of 2.3 percent in states enforcing total abortion bans compared to a control group of states where abortion rights remained protected, amounting to approximately 32,000 additional annual births resulting from abortion bans.”

    Another issue that is commonly associated with abortion and ruling regarding the efficacy of abortion bans is the financial state of the person requesting the operation be done. The study also tackled that issue, pointing out that the vast majority abortions came when the patient was a low-income individual.
    According to the study, “In 2020, approximately 1 in 5 pregnancies ended in abortion. At the time they seek abortions, 75 percent of patients are low-income, 59 percent have previously given birth, and 55 percent report a recent disruptive life event such as falling behind on the rent or losing a job.”
    The study also points out that while many states have made abortions harder to obtain, a new economy has grown surrounding the abortion industry. One example detailed in the study is a company that mails abortion medication to women who are unable to make travel out of state to receive the operation in a legal state.
    The study explains, “Moreover, even for those pregnant people who are unable to find a way to manage the logistics and costs of a lengthy trip to receive healthcare services, organizations such as Aid Access will supply medication abortion via mail to ban states for pregnant people to self-manage their abortions safely and effectively. Evidence of surging requests to Aid Access suggests that this, too, is occurring.”