Abortion Policy Design and Target Populations

Abortion policies are designed to target a variety of populations and institutions, such as clinics, providers, “helpers,” pregnant people, “preborn babies,” and others, through a combination of restrictions and protections to abortion access. The policy design literature offers insights into how the social construction of target populations motivates policymakers to provide them with either burdens or benefits, based on factors such as perceived “deservingness” and “power.” This perspective is supported by research demonstrating that regulations exacerbate existing inequities for intersectionally marginalized communities, particularly low-income women of color. We code six years worth of legislation about abortion in six states (Georgia, Idaho, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Oregon) with varying degrees of abortion regulations to identify (a) who is explicitly targeted in the language of the proposed legislation, (b) the characteristics that are used to construct populations, and (c) how policy tools allocate benefits and burdens. We find that these dynamics shift over time (pre- and post-Dobbs) and across ideological contexts (restrictive and protective states). Ultimately, this project provides insight into the relationship between policy design, the social construction of target populations, and marginalization.