Women and Reproductive Control: The Nexus between Abortion and Contraceptive Use in Madhya Pradesh, India

This article examines the determinants of contraceptive and abortion behavior and how each of these influences the other, with an emphasis on the role of women's life-course stage and experience. We base our approach on life-course theory, which argues that behavior is influenced by current circumstances as well as experiences over the life course. We use data collected for every pregnancy experienced by 2,444 women in Madhya Pradesh, India, to explore use of temporary contraceptive methods (both modern and traditional) and sterilization, as well as abortion attempts. We use logistic regression to model whether women took these actions in a given pregnancy interval, including past experience with contraception in the abortion analyses and with abortion in the contraceptive analyses. The results suggest that life-course factors play a role in shaping behavior. Moreover, past use of contraceptives has a significant effect on attempted abortion and vice versa. Finally, we find that this relationship changes as women age and accumulate experience.