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Sunday, March 05, 2006

Study - Effect of Abortion Legalization on Sexual Behavior: Evidence from Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Study - Effect of Abortion Legalization on Sexual Behavior: Evidence from Sexually Transmitted Diseases
We find that gonorrhea and syphilis incidences are significantly and positively correlated with abortion legalization. Further, we find a divergence in STD rates among early legalizing states and late legalizing states starting in 1970 and a subsequent convergence after the Roe v. Wade decision, indicating that the estimated correlation between STD rates and abortion legalization is a causal relationship. According to our estimates, abortion legalization might account for as much as one fourth of the average disease incidence, suggesting that sexual behavior is very responsive to changes in incentives.

The study is available as a pdf here.

The authors look at the monetary cost of the additional cases of STDs. But they don't examine the additional morbidity and mortality.

One interesting point: STDs raise a woman's risk of pregnancy complications. So, with more STDs, we'll see more pregnancy complications and thus more maternal mortality -- which will then be used to justify easier access to abortion, when it was the easy access to abortion that led to the increase in STDs and thus the increase in maternal risk.

They can't lose, can they? Abortion unleashes a host of griefs on women and families, and the people who promote it use the griefs as justification for more abortion!

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