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Title: Do Public Family Planning Expenditures Affect the Abortion Rate?
Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis
Publication Year: 2012
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Abstract: Abortion is a polarizing issue among both the American public and our politicians. Despite heated debate, a 2009 survey showed a majority of people agree that we should reduce the abortion rate. Although federal law restricts federal funding of abortion such that it can be used only in cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment of the woman, some policymakers contend that public support for family planning services allows family planning providers to shift private funding toward abortion coverage. Several studies have examined the effect of Medicaid family planning expansion waivers on contraception use, the birth rate, and the abortion rate. Using two panel data sets and Ordinary Least Squares regression with state and year fixed effects, this paper builds on previous analyses by offering an examination of the relationship between the abortion rate and the dollar amount of public family planning expenditures. The findings of this analysis suggest that increases in public family planning spending reduce the abortion rate, although likely to only a modest extent. Policymakers would be well advised to consider the implications of social science analyses before cutting family planning spending as the debate surrounding public funding of family planning clinics undoubtedly continues
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Authors: Joy, Maria
Institution: Georgetown
Department: Public Policy
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Publisher Location: Washington, D.C.
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Data Collections: IPUMS CPS
Topics: Family and Marriage
Countries: United States