Opponents of abortion have long supported abortion waiting periods, arguing that this gives parents time to weigh the seriousness of their decision. The sexist reasoning here is on clear display. Abortion opponents believe that women will not seriously contemplate their decision unless forced to. They ignore the overwhelming data suggesting that women think carefully about their options, and that abortion regret is extremely rare.
Now, a new study points to the harms of abortion waiting periods. According to a new National Bureau of Economic Research paper, state waiting periods cause a 62% increase in second trimester abortions. Second trimester abortions are more complicated, and therefore more expensive and risky. According to the paper, waiting periods increase the costs of abortion by nearly $1,000 for some women.
How Abortion Restrictions Increase Costs, Second Term Abortions
For the analysis, researchers assessed the effects of Tennessee’s mandatory waiting period. The law was enacted in 2018, and requires that a woman wait 48 hours before her in-person counseling appointment and her abortion. Under the law, Tennessee abortion clinics must delay care not for a medical reason, but because the government has decided women must be forced to think longer about their decisions.
Following the enactment of the policy, the rate at which women sought second trimester abortions increased by 62%, such that second trimester abortions comprised 4.1% of all abortions.
Second trimester abortions have a higher rate of complications. They’re also more expensive. According to the paper, the waiting periods drove the cost of abortion up by $929 for women who had to wait until the second trimester. For some women, this figure can mean the difference between making rent or buying food for their family. Because federal government health programs are prohibited from funding abortion, the poorest women may not have coverage. Even people with good insurance coverage may find that their insurer denies coverage for a second trimester abortion.
The study found that Tennessee’s abortion restrictions did decrease the rate of abortion—but only slightly, by 6%. Other research suggests that this rate decrease does not necessarily mean women reconsidered. Instead, the delay might have delayed a woman’s abortion beyond the point at which it would be legal. According to the Turnaway Study, an ongoing study of women denied abortions because they waited too long, women who are denied abortions have much worse outcomes than women who go through with the procedure. Being denied an abortion is linked to a higher risk of mental illness, staying in an abusive relationship, living in poverty, and needing government assistance.
Choice Only Exists if You Have Money
The study highlights a troubling phenomenon: choice is an illusion for people who cannot pay for an abortion. When a woman’s abortion is delayed to the second trimester, she may not be able to afford it. This forces the women who are least equipped to support a child or pay for healthcare to have children they may not be able to care for. And the same Republican leaders who would deny these women an abortion also would deny them and their children government support and affordable healthcare.
Abortion remains legal—at least for some pregnancies and some people—for now. As long as financial barriers prevent some women from choosing what’s best for them and their families, however, there is no real choice about whether and when to have a child.