Welfare Cap Cuts Births, Study Says

Denying increased payments to New Jersey welfare recipients who have additional children appeared to boost abortion rates in the short run and drove down birthrates significantly, a Rutgers University study showed. Between 1992 and 1996, New Jersey’s so-called family cap led welfare recipients to get about 1,400 more abortions than would have been expected in that period, the study found. Most were concentrated in the first two years. But the abortion increase appeared to be a short-term response to the family cap policy. Over the four years, the report said, welfare recipients significantly increased their use of family planning clinics and of contraceptives, and there were 14,000 fewer births in the group than would have occurred without the policy.