Abortion rates and birth outcomes: evidence from Spain

Abstract

Access to legal and safe abortion is a key reproductive right that shapes abortion and unwanted pregnancy rates, ultimately affecting birth outcomes. In this paper, we examine the impact of induced abortion (IA) rates on infant health. We also explore heterogeneities by maternal age and by the number of clinics available within a province. We leverage variation in IA access across Spanish provinces and combine IA registers with birth certificate data from 2011 to 2018. Our results show that higher IA rates are associated with improved birth outcomes, but only among very young mothers (under 20 years old). Furthermore, this positive effect is limited to provinces with fewer clinics. Overall, our findings highlight that access to IA can influence newborn health, particularly among very young mothers, even in a country with a relatively permissive legal framework for abortion.

Short Speaker Bio

Marco Cozzani is an Assistant Professor of Demography at the University of Florence. Prior to this position, he was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Bologna. He also held a post-doctoral research position at the European University Institute, where he completed his PhD. His main research interests include population and children health, fertility, social stratification, fetal origins, quantitative methods, and causal inference.

Discussant

Beatrice Caniglia, Università di Trento 

Registration

Send an e-mail to csis@unitn.it by 11th February 2026