Abortion Is an Economic Issue: In a Post-Roe World, How Much Does It Cost?

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

62% : But legal and political battles are still pending as anti-abortion groups lobby for further restrictions on abortion pills.
61% : In states that support reproductive rights and telemedicine, abortion is becoming more accessible.
55% : The potential for pharmacies to dispense medication abortion through a prescription and the expansion of telemedicine could allow for better availability and affordability of abortion in some states.
47% : Only seven states require private insurance carriers to cover abortion, and several states have laws limiting or restricting private insurance coverage of abortion care.
45% : Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration announced that retail pharmacies in states where abortion remains legal would be allowed to stock and distribute the abortion pill mifepristone.
42% : The 1976 Hyde Amendment blocks the use of federal funds for abortion (except in extremely rare cases when the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, or endangers the patient's life).
40% : Abortion is not only an extremely personal and emotional decision -- it's an economic issue, in regard to both having one and not having one, according to Carrie Baker, professor of women and gender studies at Smith College.
40% : But in states where abortion is banned, reproductive care is more difficult and expensive -- and even if you can obtain an abortion somewhere else, you can't always afford to get there.
38% : And the use of telemedicine to prescribe medication for abortion is already restricted or banned in at least 20 states, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
38% : A study co-authored by researcher Diana Greene Foster entitled The Economic Consequences of Being Denied an Abortion found that patients who were denied abortion saw their overdue debts climb by almost 80% in the years following birth, with higher rates of bankruptcies and evictions, and were at greater risk of poverty compared to those allowed to have an abortion.
35% : As of this month, which would mark the 50th anniversary of Roe, abortion is banned in 14 states and restricted in several others.
29% : The law banning abortion was enacted shortly after the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization last June that overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision and revoked the constitutional right to abortion, giving states full authority to limit access or prohibit abortion outright.

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