Summary of search results
| Authors | Year | Setting | Study period | Relationship of interest | TRAP law(s) assessed | Outcome(s) | Findings |
| Amador21 | 2015 | USA | 1997–2011 | Impact of reproductive policy on choice patterns in young women (18–30 years) | Simulated TRAP law(s) (inspired by Texas’s HB2) resulting in county-level provider closures | Abortion rate/ratio, contraception choices | Simulated closure of county-level provider was associated with a 6.8% decrease in the probability of obtaining an abortion and a 5.5% decrease in abortion ratio (#abortions/#pregnancies). Authors reported substantial substitution between contraception and abortion. |
| Beauchamp20 | 2015 | USA | 1991–2005 (simulations) | Impact of TRAP laws on abortion market and abortion rates | Licensing, physician law, second-trimester hospital requirements, proximity to hospital, transfer agreement, physical/administrative requirements | Abortion rate, provider entry/market patterns | Physical/administrative requirements decreased market entry rates for clinics (−0.37; SE=0.22). Applying Utah’s restrictive provider regulatory scheme to the full country (via simulation) resulted in a 0.77% change in the number of abortions over the observation period (no SE reported). |
| Colman and Joyce18 | 2011 | Texas, USA | 2001–2006 | Impact of WRTK Act on late-term abortion rates | ASC requirement for abortion at 16+ weeks' gestation (also waiting/counselling components) | Abortion rate, cost, timing | WRTK Act was associated with a decrease of 0.57 late-term abortions per 1000 women (SE=0.10), a 72% decline compared with the pre-policy average. Cost of abortions at 20 weeks' gestation increased by 37%. The authors found no effect of WRTK on abortions prior to 16 weeks' gestation. |
| Gerdts et al 17 | 2016 | Texas, USA | 2014 (May–August) | Impact of HB2 on women who obtained an abortion | Admitting privilege requirements (also medical abortion restrictions, 20-week ban) | Burden (distance, cost, delay, preferred procedures) and hardship (self-reported composite/summary variable) | HB2 was associated with a 19% increase in difficulty accessing abortion, a 32.6% increase in women travelling over 50 miles, a 10.3% increase in women spending over US$100, a 14.3% increase in ‘frustrated demand’ for medical abortion, and an increase in mean hardship score (0.72, no SE reported). |
| Grossman et al 5 | 2014 | Texas, USA | 2012–2014 | Impact of HB2 on abortion provision | Admitting privilege requirements (also medical abortion restrictions, 20-week ban) | Abortion rate, clinic availability | HB2 was associated with a 13% decrease in the Texas abortion rate over the observation period. The number of abortion facilities declined by 46%. |
| Medoff19 | 2010 | USA | 1982–2005 | Impact of TRAP licensing fees or plant/personnel laws on abortion demand | Licensing fees, plant/personnel laws | Abortion ratio (abortions per 1000 pregnancies, women 15–44 years) | The effect of licensing fees on abortion demand (#abortions/#pregnancies) was 1.33 and the effect of facility requirements on abortion demand was −6.29 (no SEs reported for either estimate), based on the model with time effects; the author reported that neither association was statistically significant. |
ASC, ambulatory surgical centre; HB2, House Bill; TRAP, Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers; WRTK Act, Women’s Right to Know Act.