Abortion and crime: who should you believe?
…two sets of states (high abortion states and low abortion states) have nearly identical crime patterns. Note, that this is a period before the generations exposed to legalized abortion are…
The controversial theory linking Roe v. Wade to a massive crime drop is back in the spotlight as several states introduce abortion restrictions. Steve Levitt and John Donohue discuss their…
As the Supreme Court considers overturning Roe v. Wade, we look back at Steve Levitt’s controversial research on an unintended consequence of the 1973 ruling….
…two sets of states (high abortion states and low abortion states) have nearly identical crime patterns. Note, that this is a period before the generations exposed to legalized abortion are…
…legalized abortion reduces the number of unwanted children. Consequently, legalized abortion lowers crime in the future. So what does the steady decline in abortions performed in recent years predict for…
…abortion services. Though legal, abortion is much harder to come by than one might expect: while 97% of ob-gyns reported having encountered women seeking an abortion, only 14% said they…
…suburbs will have easy access to an abortion. And anyone living in Mexico could travel here for an abortion. The quotes that McKinley provides from opposing sides of the abortion…
A Texas State Senator has been ridiculed for his proposal to pay women $500 if they show up at an abortion clinic, elect not to have an abortion, and then…
The Times recently reported the death of Constance E. Cook, a former assemblywoman from upstate New York who co-wrote the measure that legalized abortion in that state in 1970, three…
…any discussion of whether abortion should be legal. It is true that I believe that legalized abortion, by reducing the number of unwanted children, lowers future crime. On the other…
…Gutmacher Institute makes estimates based on surveys of abortion providers of the number of abortions performed per live birth in each state and year. To proxy for the abortion exposure…
Video In the video player on the left, you’ll find Part 2 of Levitt’s discussion of the research behind the abortion/crime link. (You can find Part 1 in the video…
Is it just me, or does it seem that the failure of the abortion-ban referendum in South Dakota hasn’t gotten much attention? It’s certainly understandable why, what with the Democratic…
I blogged last month about the Foote and Goetz criticism of the work I did with John Donohue on abortion. While embarrassing because it pointed out that the wrong numbers…
…germinated. In our latest Freakonomics video, Levitt talks about the research that led to his most controversial paper, “The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime,” co-authored by John Donohue. We…
People never seem to get tired of debating about whether legalizing abortion reduced crime. The latest installment involved my co-author John Donohue and a host of critics in a Battle…
…the Australian Longitudinal Study of Health and Relationships shows a dramatic decline in Australia’s abortion rate and a rise in its birth rate. Julia Shelley of Deakin University in Melbourne…
…legalized abortion on crime. John and Steve talk about guns, the death penalty, the heat they took from their joint research, and why it’s frustratingly difficult to prove truth in…
After the Supreme Court’s abortion decision, doctors in some states are concerned that delivering treatment could put them in legal jeopardy. Bapu Jena looks at how the practice of “defensive…
…abortion reduced crime. It isn’t abortion per se that matters, it is the number of unwanted children. Legalization mattered because after abortion became legal the cost (financial, social stigma, availability,…
…to have abortions. This is obviously a completely different situation than abortion as we know it today, in which a woman chooses whether or not to have an abortion now,…
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz combs through mountains of information to find advice for everyday life….
The philosopher known for his rigorous ethics explains why Steve is leading a morally inconsistent life….
Gun control, abortion rights, drug legalization — it seems like every argument these days claims that if X happens, then Y will follow, and we’ll all be doomed to Z….
…is similar to that of my work with John Donohue on legalized abortion and crime. As discussed in Freakonomics, unwanted children are at increased risk for crime, and legalized abortion…
…is similar to that of my work with John Donohue on legalized abortion and crime. As discussed in Freakonomics, unwanted children are at increased risk for crime, and legalized abortion…
We are constantly wowed by new technologies and policies meant to make childbirth better. But beware the unintended consequences.
…a million abortions a year, and there were only three million children born each years in this country. And so those abortions were more likely to occur among teenage mothers,…
…made me a little queasy. Conversely, although logic tells me that abortion as practiced in the U.S. doesn’t seem like such a great idea (see the end of the abortion…
Why are humans so eager for magic-bullet solutions? Can you explain how a pen works? And how does Angela feel about being forever branded “the grit lady”?…
…“Legalized abortion led to less unwantedness. Unwantedness leads to high crime. Legalized abortion, therefore, led to lex–less crime.” I mean, you raise a lot of eyebrows with that comment. Is…
