Table 2.
Effect of availability of legal abortion centers on contraceptive use and self-reported abortions
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) | (8) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any Method | Modern Method | Female Sterilization | Male Sterilization | Modern Method Other Than Sterilization | Traditional Method | Ever Had an Abortion | Share of All Pregnancies Aborted | |
| Number of Abortion Centers in District | 0.974** | 0.974** | 0.978* | 0.999 | 0.976** | 0.992 | 1.013† | 0.002** |
| (0.0065) | (0.0072) | (0.0109) | (0.0106) | (0.0041) | (0.0071) | (0.0080) | (0.0002) | |
| DHS 2001 | 1.759** | 1.678** | 1.339** | 1.184 | 1.886** | 1.552** | 0.879 | –0.002* |
| (0.1112) | (0.0977) | (0.0817) | (0.1226) | (0.1452) | (0.2408) | (0.1302) | (0.0007) | |
| DHS 2006 | 2.343** | 2.293** | 1.699** | 1.105 | 2.681** | 1.421* | 1.900** | 0.000 |
| (0.2003) | (0.1962) | (0.2224) | (0.1670) | (0.2289) | (0.2276) | (0.3310) | (0.0017) | |
| DHS 2011 | 2.656** | 2.410** | 1.591** | 1.289 | 2.987** | 2.099** | 3.216** | 0.007** |
| (0.2303) | (0.2249) | (0.2330) | (0.2110) | (0.3140) | (0.3676) | (0.5636) | (0.0025) | |
| Urban | 1.324** | 1.256** | 1.146 | 1.063 | 1.264** | 1.231** | 1.440** | 0.009** |
| (0.0888) | (0.0876) | (0.1149) | (0.1634) | (0.0801) | (0.0879) | (0.1252) | (0.0022) | |
| Age | 1.063** | 1.059** | 1.080** | 1.091** | 0.987** | 1.026** | 1.052** | 0.000* |
| (0.0030) | (0.0031) | (0.0036) | (0.0043) | (0.0039) | (0.0041) | (0.0054) | (0.0001) | |
| Buddhist | 0.679** | 0.719** | 0.419** | 0.640** | 1.227 | 0.735† | 1.200 | 0.004 |
| (0.0533) | (0.0670) | (0.0724) | (0.0925) | (0.1583) | (0.1172) | (0.1800) | (0.0028) | |
| Muslim | 0.257** | 0.252** | 0.112** | 0.104** | 0.936 | 0.717 | 0.504* | –0.005* |
| (0.0422) | (0.0427) | (0.0254) | (0.0623) | (0.1824) | (0.2240) | (0.1559) | (0.0026) | |
| Christian | 0.804 | 0.877 | 0.882 | 0.744 | 1.039 | 0.638 | 1.095 | -0.001 |
| (0.1776) | (0.1889) | (0.2585) | (0.2481) | (0.1503) | (0.3410) | (0.2868) | (0.0057) | |
| Other | 0.498** | 0.443** | 0.232** | 0.446* | 0.822† | 1.223 | 0.861 | –0.000 |
| (0.0629) | (0.0567) | (0.0502) | (0.1438) | (0.0935) | (0.1891) | (0.1615) | (0.0025) | |
| Primary Education | 1.236** | 1.158** | 0.869† | 1.658** | 1.118† | 1.497** | 2.232** | 0.009** |
| (0.0700) | (0.0654) | (0.0626) | (0.1596) | (0.0653) | (0.1484) | (0.2263) | (0.0017) | |
| Secondary Education | 1.331** | 1.114 | 0.576** | 1.352* | 1.475** | 2.360** | 3.250** | 0.024** |
| (0.0900) | (0.0866) | (0.0703) | (0.1870) | (0.1166) | (0.2763) | (0.4008) | (0.0027) | |
| Tertiary Education | 1.305** | 0.756* | 0.219** | 0.651 | 1.589** | 5.381** | 3.412** | 0.041** |
| (0.1344) | (0.0866) | (0.0604) | (0.1912) | (0.1854) | (0.8198) | (0.6233) | (0.0067) | |
| District Dummy Variables Included? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Number of Observations | 32,098 | 32,098 | 31,620 | 32,078 | 32,098 | 31,657 | 31,371 | 29,368 |
| Number of Districts | 75 | 75 | 72 | 74 | 75 | 70 | 70 | 75 |
| Pseudo-R 2 | .1102 | .1014 | .1982 | .1604 | .0971 | .0818 | .1327 | .0626 |
| Mean Value of Dependent Variable | 0.431 | 0.388 | 0.158 | 0.068 | 0.163 | 0.044 | 0.043 | 0.015 |
Notes: Columns 1–7 report odds ratios from a logit model. Column 8 presents coefficients from a linear regression including a constant (coefficient not reported here). District-correlated robust standard errors in parentheses. Regressions are weighted using survey weights. Sample is married women aged 15–49 who usually reside in the household. Excluded religious category is “Hindu”; excluded education category is “No education.” Some observations are dropped in columns 3, 4, 6, and 7 because of a lack of variation in the value of the dependent variable within district. Observations for women who have never had any pregnancy are dropped in column 8 because the share of aborted pregnancies is not defined for these women.
Sources: Authors’ calculations using Demographic and Health Surveys of Nepal (1996–2011) and Technical Committee for Implementation of Comprehensive Abortion Care (2010).
† p < .10; *p < .05; **p < .01