Borderline Rights: The Effect of Neighbor Restrictions on Border County Abortion Provision in Illinois

Cynthia Buckley , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Lauren Paddock, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Hildegard Luijten, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Meegan Mayer, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Erica Hamlink, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Caroline Halsted, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Most states in the mid-west have pursued abortion restrictions. Illinois is recognized as providing protected access to abortion, but Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, and Missouri severely restrict access, and Iowa has attempted one of the most restrictive abortion laws to date. Do restrictions in neighboring states tend to raise the number of abortions provided in Illinois? Do increases tend to cluster within border counties? We create a legislative date base documenting the timing and type of abortion restrictions in neighboring states. Data by county from the Illinois State Department of Health enables the evaluation of trends in the number of abortions provided in Illinois to non-residents to support our hypotheses. Tracing the numbers and locations of abortion performed at the state and county level (1998- 2018). Findings contribute to studies of circumvention opportunities, document “spillover” costs to state abortion restrictions and expand analyses of health outcomes associated with abortion restriction.

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 Presented in Session 1. Fertility, Family Planning, Sexual Behavior, & Reproductive Health 1