Hospitals' abortion policies : Impact and innovation

Sixty-eight (68) decision-makers were interviewed in thirty-six (36) general hospitals in Harris County, Texas, one year after the Supreme Court's abortion decision (Roe v. Wade) to determine what impact the decision had on hospitals abortion policies. Hospitals' pre-Roe and post-Roe policies were measured on a 7-point scale. The mean policy position had shifted two points toward greater permissiveness after the abortion decision. Both economic variables (staff-bed ratio and occupancy rate) and decision-maker variables (opinion of the decision and opinion of the Court) were related to impact or policy change. Post-Roe policy positions viere viewed as measures of innovation. Both economic and decision-maker variables were found to be related to innovation. These variables were not significantly intercorrelated. Consequently, a "causal" model of two variables independently related to impact and innovation was indicated.