The relationship between legal abortion and marriage.

Abstract

A study using the abortion-birth ratios for residents of each U.S. state for the second half of 1970 and for all of 1971 was done to determine if legal abortions reduced marriages. Data showed that trends were consistent with the hypothesis that a relationship exists between l egalized abortion-birth ratios and trends in crude marriage rates among states between 1967 and 1971 with reduction in crude marriage rates in the states with the relatively high abortion-birth ratios. Change in po licy on induced abortions may be responsible for the increased trend in the U.S. crude marriage rate from 1959-1970 and for its levelling off in 1971 and 1972. Analysis of data also suggested that there is a relation ship between less restrictive abortion policies and a decline in crude marriage rates. An estimation of the number of marriages postponed for at least one year following legal abortion indicated that about 1 abortion in 10 delays a marriage when all the decline in marriage rates were caused by increased abortions and when no legal abortions were subs titutes for illegal abortions. Results were obtained employing general measures for variables, but stronger relationships might be produced if more refined measures which consider race, age, parity, and marital status were introduced.