US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the abortion restrictions would have some serious “damage” to the US economy.
Yellen was at a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Tuesday when she commented that the country’s economy would be affected without the contribution of women.
The Treasury Secretary mentioned, "I believe that eliminating the rights of women to make decisions about when and whether to have children would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades."
The overturn of Roe v. Wade law would refrain women from pursuing their education and decrease their earning potential and their contribution to the labor force.
Yellen, the first female Treasury secretary, is the latest political personality to voice their concern against the Supreme Court's leaked draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Abortion and the economy
Voicing her concerns, Senator Yellen said, "In many cases, abortions are of teenage women, particularly low-income and often Black, who aren't in a position to be able to care for children, have unexpected pregnancies, and it deprives them of the ability often to continue their education to later participate in the workforce."
There have been multiple studies to show how abortions and the economy are connected.
A Turnaway Study conducted on groups of women over several years found that two-thirds of women who were unable to get an abortion, plunged into poverty within six months.
A 2020 paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that denial of abortion access causes bankruptcies and evictions experienced by women to rise by 81%.
The Blue States and abortion law
The Democrat-led states in the US prepare to protect the abortion rights of women even if the Supreme Court would officially overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade law.
Sixteen states, including California, Vermont, Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, are working to protect abortion access.
