| Abstract: | The ecological characteristics of states were correlated with measures of the distribution of abortions among states before and after the Supreme Court's abortion decision. Techniques of path analysis were used to separate these conelations into direct effects and effects mediated through state abortion laws. The Court decision produced a gradual decrease in the effect of abortion laws on the distribution of abortions, and in the indirect effects of ecological variables. The major trend in the direct effects of ecological variables was a gradual increase in the relationship between population size and number of abortions. Differences reflected in state laws continued to influence abortion rates per 1,000 women of reproductive age and abortion ratios per 1,000 live births. |
