NEW: Government Watchdog Agency Releases Report on Negative Economic Effects of State Abortion Bans
WASHINGTON – Ahead of the three-year anniversary of the United States Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report examining how restrictions on abortion and reproductive care can have negative economic effects for women. This report was requested by Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03), House Committee on Education and Workforce, and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
Since the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in which the Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion, several states have taken action to restrict access to abortion and reproductive care. These measures include prohibiting abortion, lowering gestational age limits through “trigger” laws, mandatory waiting periods, and restrictions on medical providers.
In the report, GAO found that women who were denied an abortion were less likely to be employed full-time, had overall worse financial outcomes, higher rates of poverty, and lower levels of education compared to women who were provided an abortion.
“This report confirms what women have known for centuries. A woman’s ability to determine how and when she starts a family is directly tied to her economic security. When women have access to full reproductive health care, they are more likely to pursue higher education, join the workforce, and avoid financial distress,” said Ranking Member Scott. “Not only does the new report show impacts of these harmful bans in stark terms, but it also raises red flags about the government’s ability to collect important economic data due to the Trump Administration’s attacks on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies.”
“This report shows how Dobbs has been a death sentence for so many women— and condemnation to financial ruin for even more. The damning evidence compiled here is irrefutable. There’s a tragic link between draconian abortion restrictions and maternal mortality rates. There’s a proven connection between slashed reproductive freedoms and devastating financial distress. Unsafe and unintended pregnancies have huge costs— in lives and dollars— impacting all of us. This fact-based document is a searing indictment of Dobbs on its third anniversary,” said Senator Blumenthal.
The GAO report demonstrates how reproductive health care is vital not only to women’s’ physical health outcomes, but is also pivotal to their financial outcomes, academic achievement, and economic mobility. Restrictions and bans on abortions also harm the mental, physical, and financial health of patients who deserve to make decisions regarding their health in concert with their physician, and without government overreach.
To read the full report entitled, “Abortion Restrictions: Research Suggests Potential Economic and Household Effects of Recent State Changes,” click here.
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