[The Economics Of Abortion]: Stacey Tisdale Discusses The Financial Toll Overturning Roe vs. Wade Will Have On Women & Future Generations

What Happens When Women Hit Their Economic Tipping Point

By Stacey Tisdale

Regardless of whether you imagined a better or worse world if after 50 years the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade, you don’t have to speculate anymore.

In a 6-3 decision, led by conservative justices, reproductive rights became a thing of the past for millions of women in America.

As a journalist with a focus on behavior, I’m obsessed with getting to the ‘why’ in any situation where possible. Despite all of the complexities in the national conversation about a woman’s right to have an abortion, the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) found that the most common ‘why’ when it comes to wanting to end a pregnancy is financial—in particular, not having enough money to raise a child or support another.

Carrying A Heavy Load

While a few decades ago men were the primary breadwinners in households across the United States, the Urban Institute finds that now, nearly half of all household heads in the U.S. are women, with more than half of Black households relying on women to make the largest financial contribution. 

Even in two-income married households, more than 24 percent of women are bringing home the biggest share of bacon and frying it up in a pan, doing 90 percent of household chores as well.

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Working Women  - Tipping Point

Because of the Supreme Court decision, many women will now have to carry these economic burdens while facing the career disruptions that come with motherhood, compounded by the impact those career gaps have on retirement savings and social security benefits in a country where women already make up the majority of poverty-stricken elderly.

AJPH researchers also found that 6 months after being denied an abortion, women were less likely to have full-time employment, more likely to be dependent on public assistance, and four times more likely to have a household income below the federal poverty level.

Many women will also experience disruptions in their education which will also negatively impact the trajectory of their lives by limiting job and career prospects.

Women also share what Cornell University sociologist, Shelley Correll, and others call “The Motherhood Penalty,” with Correll finding that women who noted they had children on their resumes were only half as likely to get a response from a potential employer.

While the national unemployment rate is 3.5 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics finds that the rate for women is 5.7 percent. (Source: BLS)

The Abortion Gap Between Black and White Women

Many experts agree that women who truly want to have abortions will find a way to have abortions, particularly if they’re White due to socioeconomic realities.

According to LeanIn.org, on average, Black women are paid 20% less than White women. Experts say that means that many Black women simply won’t be able to afford to cross state borders and avoid what the American Journal of Public Health found was their biggest fear - not having enough money to raise a child or support another.

While lower-income women – a majority women of color - have higher unwanted pregnancy rates, The Brookings Institute found that single women who make $47,000 or more a year abort 32% of their pregnancies, whereas single women who make $11,670 a year or less abort only 8.6%. 

Brookings Researchers also concluding that lower-income women would have fewer unwanted pregnancies rates if they had more access to contraception – an often overlooked aspect of the national debate about a women’s right to choose.

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A Lasting Legacy

It’s too soon to tell how the Supreme Court’s decision will play out in the polls, consequently, future nominations, and the ultimate fate of the Roe vs Wade decision.

One thing researchers can say with a degree of certainty, however, is that children in financially stressed households “do less well than their peers on a range of developmental outcomes.”

Economists say it’s the same story when it comes to financial outcomes.  Many of these children will experience fewer education opportunities, food insecurity, a lack of job and career opportunities, and their ‘have nots’ cycle will continue for many generations to come.

You could not walk down the streets of New York yesterday and not overhear a conversation about the Supreme Court decision.  As I heard one woman speculate, “Maybe mandatory child support payments should begin at conception as well.”