A Multi-Year Study of Policies That Affect the Abortion Rate at the State Level

• Other Authors: Jackson, D. Lynn (authoraut)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Social service
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-3822

Although abortion remains legal and available to women, access to services is limited by restrictive policies such as parental consent and notification laws, mandatory delay requirements, insurance regulations/bans, and postviability testing requirements. Further, while some states have private, not-for-profit abortion fund organizations (i.e., members of the National Network of Abortion Funds), others do not. Research is lacking and shortcomings exist, that combines and controls for state restrictions on outcomes such as the rate of abortion. This study sought to examine the relationships between state policy restrictions and states' abortion rates. Data for this research was gathered from state statutes, the U.S. Census, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the Alan Guttmacher Institute, and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The study employed quantitative analyses with all 50 states over a six-year period 1988 – 2000. A hierarchical linear analysis (HLM) tested seven hypotheses. In both the final conditional model and both alternate models (with outliers removed and 1 control variable) the independent variable parental consent was statistically significant. In other words, this state restriction (parental consent) did lower the abortion rate in our model. Some of the other variable coefficients did indicate a decrease in the abortion rate, but were not statistically significant. All models were able to explain at least 30% of the variance but the alternate model (1 control variable) was more successful in explaining the variance of the growth model (a 29% increase over the original model). On a daily basis, states continue to add restrictive legislation to their books despite opposition from citizens and research that some of the restrictions are ineffective. The effect is that as the legislation is enacted, increasingly young women, low-income women and women of color are adversely affected and have their basic right to choose abortion taken away. === A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. === Fall Semester, 2005. === April 12, 2005. === abortion, reproductive rights, social justice, parental involvement === Includes bibliographical references. === Linda Vinton, Professor Directing Dissertation; Lance deHaven-Smith, Outside Committee Member; Thomas Smith, Committee Member; Dina Wilke, Committee Member.