OBJECTIVES: This article examines the effect of abortion legalization on fertility rates in the United States. METHODS: Fertility rates were compared over time between states that varied in the timing of abortion legalization. RESULTS: States legalizing abortion experienced a 4% decline in fertility relative to states where the legal status of abortion was unchanged. The relative reductions in births to teens, women more than 35 years of age, non-White women, and unmarried women were considerably larger. If women did not travel between states to obtain an abortion, the estimated impact of abortion legalization on birth rates would be about 11%. CONCLUSIONS: A complete recriminalization of abortion nationwide could result in 440,000 additional births per year. A reversal of the Roe v Wade decision leaving abortion legal in some states would substantially limit this impact because of the extent of travel between states.
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机译：目的：本文探讨了堕胎合法化对美国生育率的影响。方法：比较了在堕胎合法化时间不同的州之间的生育率。结果：与堕胎法律地位未变的国家相比，合法堕胎的国家的生育力下降了4％。青少年，35岁以上妇女，非白人妇女和未婚妇女的相对减少幅度更大。如果妇女不为获得堕胎而在各州之间旅行，堕胎合法化对出生率的估计影响约为11％。结论：全国范围内堕胎的完全重新定罪可能导致每年增加440,000例分娩。 Roe v Wade判决的逆转使某些州的堕胎合法，这将大大限制这种影响，因为州与州之间的旅行范围很大。
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