Sultan Mehmood, Yaroslav Prokhorskoy, Hosny Zoabi
11 Jan 2026

This column examines the consequences of the abortion ban introduced in the Soviet Union in 1936. Birth rates rose sharply following the ban, but many children were born prematurely or with complications that made survival difficult, leading to an increase in child mortality. The authors also find a sharp increase in female deaths associated with unsafe abortions, as well as immediate and severe consequences for child welfare and an increase in low-level delinquency in the long run, suggesting that the ban contributed to family instability or reduced parental resources.

Recent years have brought a renewed, coordinated push to restrict abortion, from the US to Hungary and Poland. Earlier this month, that backlash met a forceful counter-mobilisation in Brussels: on 17 December 2025, Members of the European Parliament endorsed the citizens’ initiative “My Voice, My Choice”, which collected 1.12 million signatures and calls for funding abortion care for women who lack access and for national laws to align with international human rights standards. 1 The initiative is framed, rightly, as a question of women’s health and autonomy. But the stakes extend further than the clinic door. Our research asks what abortion access shapes beyond the immediate decision: how it affects the health of the children who are born, where women turn when formal care is blocked, and whether the resulting private workarounds leave lasting marks on families, communities, and society.

Continued : https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/beneath-ban-abortion-evidence-ussr