Changes in pregnancy outcome after liberalization of the New York State abortion law

Abstract

A liberalized abortion law became effective in New York State on July 1, 1970. Its effects on the outcome of pregnancy were studied in a population served by six Brooklyn, New York, hospitals, by a comparison of 3½ years preceding the change and 1 year after. The number of elective abortions increased by 5,800 per cent. Despite the increase in abortions, the number of deliveries for the year beginning 6 months after the change in the law rose by 8 per cent. The number of elective abortions equaled 54 per cent of this number of deliveries. The number of spontaneous abortions fell by 20 per cent. The fraction of births made up of immature (500 to 1,000 grams) infants fell by 36 per cent. The rate of abandonment of newborn infants after delivery in Kings County Hospital, a large municipal hospital, fell by 56 per cent in the year beginning 6 months after the change in the law.