Socioeconomic and cultural determinants of abortion among Jewish women in Israel

This study uses data from the 1974-75 Israel Fertility Survey and the 1987-88 Study of Fertility and Family Formation to examine the changing determinants of abortion among Jewish women in Israel. Over the course of socioeconomic development, some economic and cultural variables (e.g., education, employment, and ethnicity) lose their explanatory power whereas others become increasingly important for understanding variation in the practice of abortion. This article argues that the relationship between these variables and abortion is mediated by a variety of external and macro-level factors including social norms, the availability of contraceptive technology, and laws governing access to abortion.