Overturning Roe v. Wade risks widening economic
On Tuesday the Supreme Court confirmed that an
The leak ignited protests across the country and pushed the issue to front of the Democratic Party’s agenda. Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a fiery speech accusing Republicans of attacking women’s rights Tuesday night at a conference by
“How dare they tell a woman what she can do and cannot do with her own body?,” Harris said. “How dare they? How dare they try to stop her from determining her own future?”
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Lower-income Black and Hispanic women are disproportionately affected by restrictions, as they’re more likely to lack the funds and ability to get time off work to travel out-of-state for care.
“It’s just hard to overstate how far-reaching the effects are likely to be,” said
If Roe were overturned, the impact would be immediate for women seeking an abortion in states that move to limit or ban access. But the
Women represent 57% of the workforce and young women represent more than 57% of college graduates, said Anne Clark Wolff, founder of investment bank Independence Point Advisors.
“Upending constitutional rights that have been protected for decades will harm all of us — not just women,” she said.
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In effect, 26 states where about 36 million women live will move to ban or severely restrict abortion, if Roe is overturned, according to Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood. The ruling would force some women into unplanned pregnancies while others would turn to higher-risk options.
“No decision of a court can stop abortion. Period,” she said.
Texas provides a glimpse into a post-Roe world for women across the country — and the financial implications. In September, a law went into effect prohibiting abortions after embryonic cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks and typically before a woman knows she’s pregnant.
Since then, the majority of women seeking an abortion have traveled out-of-state for care, according to
“A lot of our clients are working paycheck to paycheck and can’t afford to take time off of work to get an abortion, or they take time off and don’t get paid,” Rupani said. More than half the organization’s clients already have children and don’t have the finances to have more, she said.
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Travel costs for women have risen more than 30% as clinics in Texas and nearby states have filled up and clients are regularly traveling more than 1,000 miles for an abortion, to California or New York, according to the group.
Meanwhile, for women who are forced to go through with an unwanted pregnancy, the result can be a lifetime of poverty, according to
“This is not good for the economy,” she said. “You’re removing women from the labor market, and forcing women to raise children who do not have enough resources to provide housing and food.”
About half of those seeking to end a pregnancy already live below the federal poverty line, with three-quarters struggling to pay for basics like food and housing, according to the
Five years after being denied an abortion, women are four times as likely to live below the federal poverty line as those who received the procedure, the study showed.
Another study found that a decade after being denied an abortion, they had higher bankruptcies, evictions and lower credit scores. That’s according to a January research
Opponents of abortion say providing access has its own economic cost because it means a smaller population and labor pool. It’s reduced the country’s population by about 11%, curbing gross domestic product by
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However, abortion access doesn’t necessarily have an impact on population growth: Many women seeking an abortion end up having children later in life when they’re financially prepared for it, according to 2021
Widespread abortion restrictions would disproportionately hurt women of color, who are already further behind their White counterparts in the U.S. Even in today’s tight labor market, unemployment among Black women is roughly double the national average.
Black and Hispanic women are more
“We know that children who grow up in poverty earn less, end up more often involved in the justice systems, and have poorer outcomes in a number of measures,” she said. “Those are high-cost, long term outcomes for the economy.”
--With assistance from Katherine Doherty.