Date of Award
Spring 5-1-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Economics
First Advisor
Matthew Baker
Second Advisor
Karna Basu
Academic Program Adviser
Matthew Baker
Abstract
This paper estimates the effect of anti-abortion laws on maternal mortality in the United States from 1850 to 1880. Using individual-level data from the US census and a new, unbiased difference-in-differences estimator for staggered treatment timing, the average treatment effects on treated of anti-abortion laws are largely statistically insignificant or fail a parallel trends test. Taken at face value, these null results are consistent with a lack of effect from anti- abortion laws on maternal mortality. The most obvious mechanistic explana- tion is that the laws shifted some pregnant women from seeking risky legal abortions to similarly risky pregnancies, deliveries, or illegal abortions.
Recommended Citation
Quirolo, Kevin, "Dangerous Motherhood: Maternal Mortality and Anti-Abortion Legislation in the 19th Century" (2026). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/1511
