Date of Project

3-20-2026

Document Type

Honors Thesis

School Name

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Political Science

Major Advisor

Dr. Heather Pruss

Abstract

Existing literature has well-documented the disproportionate effects of abortion restrictions upon socioeconomically disadvantaged women and women of color. This thesis builds on that work by exploring the relationship between state-level abortion restrictions and women’s self-reported health, as well as state-level infant mortality rates and maternal mortality rates. This project breaks these relationships down into three separate studies: Study 1 investigates the effect that abortion restrictions have on women’s self perceptions of health. Study 2 assesses the impact of abortion restrictions on infant mortality rates. Study 3 inspects the impact of abortion restrictions on maternal mortality rates. The primary independent variable in all three studies is state-level abortion restrictions. The primary dependent variable in Study 1 is women’s self-perceptions of health as reported by the Center for Disease Control’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. The primary dependent variable in Study 2 is state-level infant mortality rates per state as reported by the Center for Disease Control. The primary dependent variable in Study 3 is state-level maternal mortality rate from 2018-2023 per state as reported by Center for Disease Control on WorldFacts.org. Control variables remained constant throughout all three studies and include: poverty rate 2022, state political identity in the 2024 election, percent black women ages 18-64 per state in 2022, uninsurance rate of women per state 2023, religiosity, education as measured by the percent of college bachelor’s degree or higher, abortion ban exemptions, and the number of prosecutions relating to pregnancy. All variables are measured on a state-level of analysis. All three studies were performed using SPSS, a statistical analysis program.

All three studies showed that socioeconomic factors are what abortion policies are acting through to affect women's self perceptions of health, infant mortality, and maternal mortality. These results suggest that abortion policies are exacerbating some of the negative outcomes that result from such factors such as poverty and lower education.

Download

Share

COinS