The Politics of Fertility Control: Family Planning & Abortion Policies in the American States

by McFarlane, Deborah R.; Meier, Kenneth J.

• ISBN13: 9781889119397
• ISBN10: 1889119393
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-12-01
• Publisher: Cq Pr

Summary

In this groundbreaking work on American public policy and human fertility control, policies and practices of the 70s, 80s, and 90s are reviewed and analyzed in each of the fifty states. Arguing that morality politics have helped make fertility policies contentious and complex, McFarlane and Meier conclude that current policies are inadequate for addressing unintended pregnancy and even contribute to high abortion rates. The authors offer alternative public policy designed to be more effective in the future.

Author Biography

Deborah R. McFarlane is a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of New Mexico Kenneth J. Meier is the Charles Puryear Professor of Liberal Arts, Professor of Political Science, and coordinator of the Program in American Politics at Texas AandM University

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables	xi
Preface	xiii
Fertility Control Policy: A Theoretical Approach	1	(19)
Public Policy Classifications	3	(2)
Mortality Policy	3	(2)
Heterogeneous Demand
Public Expressions and Private Behavior
Bueraucratic Implementation
Fertility Control as Mortality Policy	5	(10)
Heterogeneous Preferences
Framing Abortion and Family Planning
Public Pronouncements and Private Behavior
Public and Private Implementation
Fertility Control and Policy Adoption	15	(3)
The Likelihood of Policy Success	18	(1)
Conclusion	19	(1)
Contraception and Abortion: A Historical Overview	20	(19)
Fertility Control in Ancient Times	20	(4)
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Hebrews
Ancient Greece
Ancient Rome
Christianity
Other Ancient Cultures
Fertility Control in the Middle Ages	24	(2)
Contraception
Abortion
Fertility Control in Modern Times	26	(12)
Contraception in Early Modern Europe
Contraception in Nineteenth-Century America
Contraception in Twentieth-Century America
Abortion in Nineteenth-Century America
Abortion in Twentieth-Century America
Conclusion	38	(1)
Family Planning Policies: An Intergovernmental Labyrinth	39	(23)
Chronology of Federal Family Planning Policies	39	(16)
The 1960s
The 1970s
The 1980s
The 1990s
Summary
The Mazmanian and Sabatier Model: Assessing Family Planning Policy	55	(6)
Measuring the Statutory Coherence of Family Planning Statues
Composite Scores
Conclusion	61	(1)
Abortion Policy	62	(18)
Supreme Court Decisions since Roe v. Wade	62	(8)
Recent Federal Developments in Abortion Policy	70	(5)
The Executive Branch
The Legislative Branch
Likely Effectiveness of Federal Abortion Policy	75	(4)
Precise and Clearly Ranked Legal Objectives
Validity of Casual Theory
Adequate Funding
Hierarchical Integration
Decision Rules of Implementing Agencies
Official's Commitment to Statutory Objectives
Formal Access by Outsiders
Conclusion	79	(1)
State Fertility Control Policies	80	(26)
Family Planning	80	(8)
Use of Different Funding Sources
Implementing Organizations
Eligibility
Range of Clinical Services
Education and Counseling
Parental Involvement
Medicaid Managed Care
Abortion	88	(5)
Funding
Parental Involvement
Waiting Periods
Other Restrictions
Explaining the Variation in State Policies	93	(11)
Previous Research
General Hypotheses
Dependent Variables
Independent Variables
Findings
Conclusion	104	(2)
The Outputs of Fertility Control Policies	106	(25)
Available Data	106	(6)
Family Planning Data
Abortion Data
Statutory Coherence	112	(2)
Family Planning
Abortion
Determinants of State Policy Outputs	114	(7)
Family Planning Expenditures
Publicity Funded Abortions
Abortion Policy Restrictions	121	(8)
Methods
Design
Dependent Variable: State Abortion Rates
A Model of Abortion Determinants
What the States Did
The Impact of These Laws
Parental Involvement
Discussion
Conclusion	129	(2)
The Impact of Fertility Control Policies	131	(20)
Previous Studies of the Effects of Fertility Control Policies	131	(2)
Family Planning
Abortion
Fertility Control Funding and Public Health Impacts	133	(8)
Dependent Variables
Independent Variables
Methods
Findings
Discussion
Impacts from Different Family Planning Policies	141	(8)
Mazmanian and Sabatier's Policy Implementation Model
Gramlich's Typology of Intergovernmental Grants
Hypotheses
Dependent Variables
Independent Variables
Methods
Findings
Discussion
Conclusion	149	(2)
Conclusion	151	(16)
Policy Implementation over Time	153	(7)
Undermining Policy Implementation
Policy Cycles and Scenarios
Gradual Erosion or Rejuvenation?
Policy Recommendations	160	(4)
Don't Count on Abstinence
Promote Contraception
Be Realistic About Abortion
Symbolic Politics: Is There a Way Out?	164	(3)
Notes	167	(8)
Bibliography	175	(16)
Index	191	(8)
About the Authors	199