Abortion Decisions among Hispanic Women along the Texas-Mexico Border

Objective. This paper examines the abortion decisions of Hispanic women who reside in the Texas counties that border Mexico. We hypothesize that ethnicity as well as geographic location may capture differences in assimilation to the U.S. culture that, ultimately, influence fertility-control decisions. We concentrate on the connection between the abortion decision and provider availability as measured by distance to the nearest abortion provider. Methods. The empirical model uses a logit specification to compare the abortion decisions of border Hispanics to both Hispanic and Anglo women residing in nonborder regions of Texas. The data consist of all births and abortions for women 20 years old and older for 1993 in Texas. Results. We find characteristic differences among the abortion decisions of Texas women by ethnicity and geographic location. In particular, Hispanics along the border region are quantitatively more responsive to variations in the availability of abortion providers, poverty rates, female employment rates, and urbanization. Conclusions. The abortion decisions of nonborder Hispanics appear to more closely resemble those of Anglo women rather than those of their Hispanic counterparts in the border region. Also, economic development in the Texas-Mexico border region is likely to have a significant impact on abortion and fertility rates in the region.