The U.S. will see devastating economic consequences of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, experts warned on Friday.
Why it’s important: The Turnaway study found that women who must have an unwanted pregnancy were four times more likely to struggle with poverty years later. Raising a child costs an average of more than $ 230,000, according to the Department of Agriculture.
What they are saying: “This decision will cause immediate economic pain in 26 states where a ban on abortion is more likely and where people are already facing lower wages, less worker power and limited access to health care. The fall of Roe will be an additional economic factor. barricade, “Heidi Shierholz, president of the Institute for Economic Policy, said in a statement.
- “Abortion rights are economic rights, and this decision means the loss of economic security, independence and mobility for people requesting abortion. Low- and middle-income people, especially black and brown women , will be the most affected “.
- “After the most recent economic recession, where women experienced huge job losses and income compared to men, the Supreme Court decision makes it more difficult for women to regain their economic base and plan their future, ”C. Nicole Mason. , president and CEO of the Women’s Policy Research Institute, said in a statement.
- “In addition, the lack of access to the full range of reproductive health care services in states, including abortion care, will have a devastating effect on income and short- and long-term income. women, job security and career advancement, and will increase the likelihood that they will become impoverished. “
The big picture: In an amicus brief filed in the Supreme Court last year, 154 economists wrote that there is “a substantial body of well-developed and credible research that shows that legalization and access to abortion in the The United States has had, and continues to have, a significant effect on birth rates, as well as on broad social and economic effects downstream, including women ‘s educational attainment and job opportunities. “
- The paper pointed to studies showing that access to abortion increases women’s participation in the workforce, and that young women who used legal abortion to delay the unplanned start of motherhood go experience an 11% increase in hourly wages later in their careers.
- However, a woman’s income would drop by 4% every time she gives birth or adopts a child – the “pain for motherhood,” found the left-wing think tank Third Way.
- Another study estimates that statewide abortion restrictions cost state economies $ 105 billion each year. Health experts have warned that such bans will also raise maternal mortality rates.
- Abortions have been on the rise since 2017.
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