THE ABORTION DECISION: Personal and Economic Outcomes

This landmark 2011 study explored women's reproductive decision-making during an economic downturn. It indicated that low-income women increasingly seek abortions out of economic need. Conducted by independent researcher Robin H. Pugh Yi, Ph.D., the study is called Abortionomics: When Choice Is a Necessity, The Impact of Recession on Abortion. The analysis was commissioned by Merle Hoffman, founder and president of Choices Women's Medical Center, after hearing anecdotal information from abortion patients that economic hardship was a significant factor in women's decisions to have abortions. The findings were presented by Hoffman and Pugh Yi at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. on Jan. 17, 2011. This report was a follow-up to a study undertaken in 1981 by Hoffman and her clinic in partnership with Adelphi University. Hoffman titled it “Abortionomics” because majority of survey respndents gave "economic pressure" as the main reason for their decision to seek an abortion.

Pugh Yi, Robin H. Abortionomics: When Choice Is a Necessity, The Impact of Recession on Abortion, Akeso Consulting LLC, 2011. Merle Hoffman Papers, box 1, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
Full text available here: https://www.ontheissuesmagazine.com/pdfs/AbortionomicsFINALReport.pdf