The impact of Mississippi's mandatory delay law on abortions and births

Beginning August 8, 1992, a woman in the state of Mississippi had to wait 24 hours after in-person receipt of state-mandated information regarding abortion and birth complications, fetal development, and alternatives to abortion before an abortion could be performed.

To analyze the effect of the law on the abortion and birth rates of Mississippi residents.

A retrospective analysis of abortion and birth rates before and after the law in Mississippi as contrasted with abortion and birth rates in 2 comparison states, Georgia and South Carolina. Neither Georgia nor South Carolina enforced a mandatory delay law, but both states began enforcement of parental notification statutes during the study period.

Female residents of reproductive age in Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina between 1989 and 1994.

We compared birth rates, abortion rates, the percentage of late abortions, and the percentage of abortions performed outside the state of residence for all women and then by age and race before and after August 1992 among women of Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina.

We found that rate ratios (RRs) of resident abortion rates (rate after law implementation/rate before law implementation) declined 12% more in Mississippi than in South Carolina (95% confidence interval [CI], 8%-15%) and 14% more in Mississippi than in Georgia (95% CI, 10%-17%) in the 12 months after the law went into effect. Rate ratios for white adults declined 22% more in Mississippi than in South Carolina (95% CI, 17%-27%) and 20% more in Mississippi than in Georgia (95% CI, 15%-25%). Changes among nonwhite adults and white teens were more modest but also statistically significant (P<.05). For all women, RRs of the percentage of abortions performed after 12 weeks' gestation increased 39% more in Mississippi than in either South Carolina or Georgia (P<.05); the increase in the percentage of abortions after 12 weeks' gestation was observed for white and non-white adults (P<.05). We also show that the percentage of abortions performed out of state increased 42% more among women in Mississippi relative to women in South Carolina after the law (95% CI, 34%-50%).

The timing of the decline in abortion rates in Mississippi, the lack of similar declines in comparison states, the rise in percentage of late abortions and abortions performed out of state and the apparent completeness of abortion reports suggest that Mississippi's mandatory delay statute was responsible for a decline in abortion rates and an increase in abortions performed later in pregnancy among residents of Mississippi. The effect of delay laws in other states will likely depend on whether statutes require 2 separate visits to the abortion provider (ie, clinics, hospitals, or physicians' offices where abortions are performed) and the availability of abortion services.