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Monday, September 20, 2021
RICHMOND, Va. — Curbing access to reproductive health-care services, including abortion, can have disastrous effects on economic well-being, according to a new report from the Women’s Policy Research Institute.
A Democratic-led legislature in Virginia has eased some restrictions over the past few years. But the report shows lack of access results in loss of wages and, sometimes, leaving the labor force, hitting low-income Virginians the hardest.
Nicole Mason, President and CEO of the Institute, said the Commonwealth’s economy loses about $600 million a year due to state-level abortion restrictions.
“Many of the restrictions that limit the reproductive health access to women, in the state of Virginia alone, we could see more than $2 billion in increased earnings for women, ages 15 to 44,” Mason outlined.