We estimate the effect of Texas HB2, a TRAP law that shuttered nearly half of Texas' abortion clinics in late 2013. After demonstrating that pre-existing trends in abortion rates were unrelated to the changes in access caused by HB2, we implement a difference-in-difference research design to identify the effects of abortion access. Our results suggest a substantial and non-linear effect of distance to abortion services. As the distance to the nearest abortion provider increases from less than 25 miles to 25-50 miles, there is little change in rates of legally induced abortions. But an increase to 50-100 miles reduces legal abortion rates by 16 percent, an increase to 100-200 miles reduces abortion rates by 32 percent, and an increase to 200 or more miles reduces abortion rates by 47 percent. We also introduce a proxy for congestion that predicts additional reductions in abortion rates as fewer clinics serve more women.
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