The Center on the Economics of Reproductive Health (CERH) at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) last week released ground-breaking research showing just how costly abortion restrictions are to women, businesses and the economy.
The bottom line is that state-level abortion restrictions cost the U.S. economy $105 billion per year by reducing women’s labor force participation and earnings and increasing turnover and time off from work among women ages 15 to 44 years. Without abortion restrictions, the national GDP would be nearly half a percent greater.
“When access is blocked, women face enormous economic losses,” said IWPR president and CEO C. Nicole Mason. “Up to this point, we just didn’t know how much. Our new research points to just how much the economic impact on women’s long-term earnings as well as the impact of these losses on the workplace.”
IWPR’s research accounted for a wide range of abortion restrictions, including TRAP laws, procedure bans, public funding restrictions, private insurance coverage limitations, provider refusal rules, mandated counseling, waiting periods, and required parental consent for minors.
