Access to the Emergency Contraceptive Pill and Women's Reproductive Health: Evidence from Public Reform in Chile

We examine the sharp expansion in availability of the emergency contraceptive pill in Chile following legalised access through municipal public healthcare centres. Combining a number of administrative datasets on health outcomes and pharmaceutical use, and using event study and differenceindifference style methods, we document that this expansion improved certain classes of women’s reproductive health outcomes, notably reducing rates of abortion related morbidity. These improvements are largest in areas of the country in which the rollout of the pill was largest. We also document some evidence that refusal to grant the pill upon a women’s request is linked with a worsening in reproductive health outcomes.