Economic Effects of Abortion

Following the historic overturning of Roe V. Wade, and the leaked documents from the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. There has been an avalanche of responses both for and against abortion. What some haven’t stepped back to consider are the economic effects of abortion since Roe v. Wade was passed in 1973.

Here are four economic fallouts of abortion:

1. Lower Population

Some argue that abortion is a means of population control. However, the first financial consideration about abortion is that increased population is an economic driver. Over 62 million unborn babies have lost their lives since abortion was legalized.[1] Imagine if these 62 million people were not only living but creating and fulfilling jobs.

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China is one example of population control gone awry. It’s one-child policy in the 1980’s led to forced abortions and sterilizations. [2] This approach also led to sex-selective abortions and infanticide of baby girls,[3] as families preferred males to females, as well as a demographic imbalance in the male-to-female ratio, which increased sex trafficking and undocumented births.[4] China now faces an economic crisis and shrinking labor force as the result of a low fertility rate and quickly aging (and retiring) population.[5]

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2. Loss of Economic Activity and Tax Revenue

Abortion has lowered the birthrate, resulting in loss of economic activity. While the U.S. population has increased since Roe v Wade, the fertility rate (i.e, birthrate) in the U.S. has decreased per fertile adult. Research shows that abortion causally reduces births by about 10 percent.[6]

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As a result, the loss of lives to abortion causes a loss of between $70 billion and $135 billion of economic activity (i.e., valued work) each year in the US. In addition, it causes between $10 billion and $33 billion lost in annual tax revenue, supposing an income tax rate of 15 to 20 percent. This lost revenue is significantly larger than the approximately $2 billion of public funds some estimate that abortion “saves.”[7]

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3. Loss of Individual Potential

Many famous people who have made a lasting difference in the world—and economy—were adopted. The list includes Simone Biles, Nelson Mandela, Eleanor Roosevelt, Babe Ruth, and Presidents Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton, to name a few.[8] Imagine if they had been aborted instead of adopted. Not all children who escape abortion will be Steve Jobs, but they are still priceless humans who all have economic potential and have the ability to make a difference in the world if given the chance.

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Many make the argument that children who are not aborted would suffer in poverty, as women who seek abortion are more likely to be low-income. If we take this statement at face value, it would equate to saying, “Well, instead of suffering in a first-world country at the poverty level, you should just be murdered beforehand.” Imagine taking this same approach with every homeless person, saying, “You are suffering in poverty, so let’s just euthanize you.” That statement sounds cruel, yet both the unborn child and the homeless person are human beings; the only difference is time. Whose to know how many aborted children would have been change agents in the workforce, or even adopted out of poverty? What some fail also to consider is that most millionaires are first-generation rich.

An alternative solution to abortion would be for the government to channel funds previously earmarked for abortion to providing resources and help to low-income mothers to improve their and their child’s quality of life.[9]

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4. Psychological Effects

Many people who are pro-abortion agree with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who says abortion restrictions will hurt the US economy.[10] Yet the psychological effects of abortion have largely been ignored. Few studies have been done on the mental health repercussions in women who experienced abortions and how guilt, regret, and even symptoms consistent with PTSD[11] may play a role in their day-to-day lives, including affecting their economic impact.[12] While a woman who has an abortion may immediately experience more economic freedom because she is not caring for a child, the long-term psychological consequences she faces are often not taken into account.

President Ronald Reagan said, “We cannot diminish the value of one category of human life–the unborn–without diminishing the value of all human life.” These four economic fallouts indicate that abortion affects more than the women seeking the procedure, but has repercussions throughout our economy and financial world.

[1] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2021-02-03/html/CREC-2021-02-03-pt1-PgH315.htm

[2] https://www.unav.edu/web/global-affairs/chinas-demographic-challenges-the-long-term-consequences-of-the-one-child-policy

[3] https://www.britannica.com/topic/one-child-policy/Consequences-of-Chinas-one-child-policy

[4] https://www.unav.edu/web/global-affairs/chinas-demographic-challenges-the-long-term-consequences-of-the-one-child-policy

[5] https://www.britannica.com/topic/one-child-policy/Consequences-of-Chinas-one-child-policy

[6] https://marripedia.org/effects_of_abortion_on_the_u.s._population

[7] https://marripedia.org/effects_of_abortion_on_the_economy

[8] https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/g3665/celebrities-who-were-adopted/

[9] https://money.yahoo.com/abortion-finances-economic-consequences-roe-v-wade-135950577.html?guccounter=1

[10] https://www.businessinsider.com/overturn-roe-wade-economic-economy-implications-banning-abortions-severe-2022-5

[11] https://thepregnancynetwork.org/why-the-churchs-response-to-abortion-matters-on-sanctity-of-human-life-sunday/#fnref-4208-5

[12] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3395931/

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