Substantive Post #1
The article titled, “Abortion Incidence and Service Availability In the United States, 2014” examines the rate of abortion in the US by state and discusses some potential causes for increases or decreases in that rate since previous studies. This article notes that abortion has steadily declined since abortion was legalized in 1973. Overall, the abortion rate has decreased by 14% since 2011 and the number of abortions has dropped by 12%. Some may argue that this is due to restricting access to abortion clinics, but the author argues that there is not enough evidence to support that claim. For instance, Michigan closed 33% of their clinics, but there was actually an increase in abortion rate. The article discusses access to contraceptives and overall pregnancy rates. In conclusion, though the abortion rates have decreased over time, it is difficult to attribute a cause, specifically a legislative one.
In regards to my paper, I would like to potentially use this source and others like it to examine the effectiveness of policy on controlling behavior regarding sexuality and reproduction. I think data such as this helps in examining longitudinal aspects of change and helps to evaluate the effectiveness of policy.