Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

US abortion rates are declining in the midst of a striking upsurge in state-level abortion restrictions. While prior research suggests that "demand-side" restrictions such as mandatory ultrasound and counselling requirements do not have a meaningful impact on abortion rates, "supply-side" (provider-level) policies may work differently by adversely impacting service availability. These policies, often referred to as Targeted Regulation of Abortion Provider (TRAP) laws, impose non-essential, costly requirements on providers and facilities. TRAP laws simultaneously dissuade the establishment of new providers and impede the functioning of existing providers, thus promoting clinic closures. Restrictions on provider availability may therefore decrease abortions by directly limiting access to services. We use a difference-in-differences design to assess the causal impact of TRAP laws on state-level abortion rates from 1991-2011. This analysis provides new evidence on understanding the causes of the abortion decline in the US.