Roe v. Wade, a landmark decision by the Supreme Court in 1973, ruled that a woman could make her own choices regarding abortion.
The Supreme Court overturning this decision may possibly have negative economic impacts on the Black community. Why does abortion access have such a major financial impact?
A study by the University of California San Francisco found that women denied abortions were four times more likely to end up living in poverty after five years. It also revealed those same women were more likely to be under or unemployed.
Elyssa Spitzer, a women’s health policy analyst, explained to USA Today that a lack of abortion access “makes it much more difficult for women to escape poverty [or] to pursue the careers that they want.”
But the financial implications don’t only affect women.
Abortion access has major implications for young fathers. One study found that men 21 and younger whose partners sought an abortion were four times more likely to graduate from college – and earn more money – than those who became fathers.
Being forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term has been shown to lead to poverty, unemployment, and lower economic attainment. While the morality of abortion access is debatable, the negative financial impact of the Supreme Court's recent decision is not.