{"title":"MIFEPRISTONE IN MEXICO: EVIDENCE OF CROSS-BORDER SPILLOVER","authors":"LR Woskie","doi":"10.1016/j.contraception.2025.111092","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>We aimed to assess whether restrictive abortion policies in the US — specifically Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB8) and <em>Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization</em> — affected mifepristone sales within the formal health sector in Mexico, potentially indicating cross-border spillover.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We used a Synthetic Control Model (SCM) to estimate counterfactual trends in mifepristone sales in Mexico following two policy shocks: SB8 (September 2021) and <em>Dobbs</em> (June 2022). “Synthetic Mexico” was constructed using a weighted combination of countries with stable pre-trends and no relevant policy changes. Countries were selected based on data completeness and consistency, and weights were assigned using non-negative least squares.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Both US policy interventions were associated with significant increases in mifepristone sales in Mexico. Following SB8, average quarterly sales rose by 123.8 units (95% CI, 72.7–190.8; p<0.01). After <em>Dobbs,</em> sales increased by 94.8 units (95% CI, 23.5–166.1; p<0.01). Although overall volume was low and pre-trend variability limits precision, consistent upward divergence from synthetic controls suggests unique shifts at both policy points. These results are limited to the formal health sector; and SB8 coincides with Mexico’s internal decriminalization ruling, which may explain the larger increase in sales.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>These data offer empirical evidence that US abortion restrictions displace demand across borders, increasing mifepristone sales in Mexico. Concurrent policy shifts within Mexico make it challenging to attribute causality for SB8, but results underscore the need for a regional perspective on reproductive health access and policy impact.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10762,"journal":{"name":"Contraception","volume":"151 ","pages":"Article 111092"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Contraception","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010782425002835","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives
We aimed to assess whether restrictive abortion policies in the US — specifically Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB8) and Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization — affected mifepristone sales within the formal health sector in Mexico, potentially indicating cross-border spillover.
Methods
We used a Synthetic Control Model (SCM) to estimate counterfactual trends in mifepristone sales in Mexico following two policy shocks: SB8 (September 2021) and Dobbs (June 2022). “Synthetic Mexico” was constructed using a weighted combination of countries with stable pre-trends and no relevant policy changes. Countries were selected based on data completeness and consistency, and weights were assigned using non-negative least squares.
Results
Both US policy interventions were associated with significant increases in mifepristone sales in Mexico. Following SB8, average quarterly sales rose by 123.8 units (95% CI, 72.7–190.8; p<0.01). After Dobbs, sales increased by 94.8 units (95% CI, 23.5–166.1; p<0.01). Although overall volume was low and pre-trend variability limits precision, consistent upward divergence from synthetic controls suggests unique shifts at both policy points. These results are limited to the formal health sector; and SB8 coincides with Mexico’s internal decriminalization ruling, which may explain the larger increase in sales.
Conclusions
These data offer empirical evidence that US abortion restrictions displace demand across borders, increasing mifepristone sales in Mexico. Concurrent policy shifts within Mexico make it challenging to attribute causality for SB8, but results underscore the need for a regional perspective on reproductive health access and policy impact.
期刊介绍:
Contraception has an open access mirror journal Contraception: X, sharing the same aims and scope, editorial team, submission system and rigorous peer review.
The journal Contraception wishes to advance reproductive health through the rapid publication of the best and most interesting new scholarship regarding contraception and related fields such as abortion. The journal welcomes manuscripts from investigators working in the laboratory, clinical and social sciences, as well as public health and health professions education.