Access to abortion is fundamental to each person’s ability to make decisions about their bodies, their families, and their futures. When that access is restricted or eliminated, the consequences extend far beyond health care, affecting the ability to pursue education, remain in the workforce, and achieve long-term economic security. Research consistently shows that people denied abortion care are more likely to experience financial hardship, while those who can access care are better positioned to build stable, self-determined lives.
The burden of restriction is not shared equally. Abortion bans and limits disproportionately affect low-income women, women of color, and people in rural communities—those who are least able to travel, take time off work, or navigate complex legal and financial barriers to care. At the same time, the economic consequences ripple outward, affecting labor force participation, state economies, and the broader goal of gender equity. Reproductive autonomy and economic opportunity are inseparable, and policies that restrict one inevitably undermine the other.
Featured Policy Solutions
Enact a nationwide right to abortion, protecting the legality of abortion care in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Policymakers should advance federal protections for abortion rights nationwide to ensure reproductive freedom and to improve abortion access for all, regardless of geographic location, particularly in the face of state-level bans and restrictions.
Reduce financial barriers to abortion care.
A key policy lever for ensuring equitable access to abortion care is affordability through insurance coverage. Federal lawmakers should end restrictions on coverage for abortion care, like the Hyde Amendment, while also pursuing policies requiring insurance coverage for a full spectrum of reproductive health care. Abortion is health care and should be treated as such.
Protect and expand access to medication abortion, including mifepristone and misoprostol, which is a safe and effective form of abortion care.
Medication abortion is a fundamental component of abortion provision across the country. Even as anti-abortion policymakers at all levels of government continue to threaten abortion access, abortion pills fill significant gaps in access to reproductive health care. Policymakers should take steps to protect access to medication abortion while also exploring ways to support expanded access.
