Impact of Induced Abortion on Fertility in Romania

Abstract

The topic of induced abortion as a method of birth control in the formersocialist European countries has been a subject of broad debate. Legal or illegal abortion, depending on legislation restrictions, was widely used in periods when people had reduced control over their reproductive life. Romania, a former socialist country, is an interesting case to study because of the very dramatic swings in its abortion policies coupled with important changes in available contraceptive methods associated with the fall of the Soviet Empire. The study investigates the impact of induced abortion on the risks of first-, second- and third-order births in Romania during the last 35 years, using data from the Reproductive Health Survey, Romania, 2004. The legalization of abortion in 1990, after two decades of total prohibition, had an immediate effect on second- and third-order births, but it contributed less to the decrease of primo-fertility. Investigations regarding the “first and second demographic transition” that initially involved women desiring fewer children and then women modifying the timing of those births show changes in the use of abortion to achieve birth plans. The effect of abortion on fertility has decreased over time.