Beneath the Ban of Abortion: Evidence from the USSR

Abstract

We exploit Stalin’s abrupt 1936 nationwide abortion ban as a sharp policy discontinuity to study the consequences of coercive reproductive restrictions. Using newly digitized archival data, we find that the ban not only increased birth rates but also increased infant and maternal mortality and increased illegal abortions, providing direct evidence of substitution toward unsafe procedures. We also find a rise in adolescent property crimes among cohorts born after the ban. These patterns cannot be explained by concurrent Stalinist policies. The findings reveal that sweeping limits on reproductive autonomy can reshape demographic patterns and trigger lasting social consequences.