Utilization of oral contraception: The impact of direct and indirect restrictions on access to abortion

• We examine contraception, restrictive abortion legislation and provider access.
• We measure if women use less contraception if abortions are less costly.
• Parental involvement increases the likelihood of young women using the pill.
• Fewer abortion providers increase the likelihood of women using the pill.

Utilizing variation across U.S. state abortion restrictions on minors and different levels of provider availability, we measure whether women under the age of 25 are less careful in using contraception if abortions are less costly, in terms of both financial and opportunity cost. The effects of abortion restrictions for minors are largest and the most significant for women aged 18 and younger, and the effect of these restrictions decrease in magnitude and significance gradually as women age. As the percent of the state's women without a provider increases, abortions are more difficult to obtain, and women are more likely to use the pill. When a larger percentage of women have a provider, abortions are more easily obtained, and there is a negative effect on pill usage. These results indicate that young women are forward thinking when making their contraceptive decisions, relative to the direct and indirect restrictions on abortion access.