Date of Award

Spring 5-3-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Economics

First Advisor

Dr. Partha Deb

Second Advisor

Dr. Jessica Van Parys

Academic Program Adviser

Dr. Karna Basu

Abstract

Eleven states require women seeking abortions to undergo mandated ultrasounds prior to the procedure while twenty-four states require women to wait either 24, 48 or 72 hours between receiving state mandated counseling and the procedure. I examine the effects of abortion restrictions on health behaviors and health care of women. I apply staggered difference-in-differences to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data to estimate the causal effects of the two-trip mandatory waiting period (MWP) law and mandatory ultrasounds (MUS) law on women’s mental health, use of alcohol and tobacco, and whether women are obtaining routine mammograms and pap smears. The results indicate that MWPs increase mental distress and alco- hol consumption by approximately 2 and 2.5 days in a month, respectively. MWP also increases the probability that a woman smokes by 0.8%. MUS decreases the probability that women obtain mammograms and pap smears by 0.7% and 2.4%, respectively. These effects are also large for minorities and young women.

Available for download on Saturday, May 03, 2025

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