A report by Republicans of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) this week estimates that the United States paid $6.9 Trillion in abortion costs for 2019 alone.
In response to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s claims that restricting abortion could negatively affect the economy and reduce women’s labor market outcomes, the committee published the report.
CHILLS. @SenatorTimScottJanet Yellen gets a shocking rebuke. She claims that black women need to have abortions to thrive. “I’ll just simply say that as a guy raised by a black woman in abject poverty, I am thankful to be here as a United States senator.”
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) May 10, 2022
“These arguments overlook the far greater economic cost of unrestricted abortion when accounting for the lost lives of the unborn,”According to Republicans, the report is entitled “The Economic Cost of Abortion.”
This report was different from other government agencies reports. It analyzed the economic costs of abortion in the eyes of unborn children. “been omitted from previous analyses.”According to the report:
To apply standard methods of valuation used by government agencies Consider the cost and benefit of any policy action that could affect mortality risk. According to our estimates, the economic costs of aborting unborn children in the In 2019, the U.S. made $6.9 Trillion, 32 percent gross domestic product. It was that year. The $16.2 billion loss is 425x greater than this cost. Expected earnings for new mothers over their first six months years of the child’s life.
Further, the report stated that abortion is illegal “shrinks the labor force.” Republicans calculated that if all of the estimated 63 million babies aborted since the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe V. WadeDecision had been made and carried out to its fullest extent, which was preserved to this day. “they would add nearly 20 percent to the current U.S. population.”From these, 45 millions would be working-age (18 to 64).
It was also found that abortion is a problem. “weakens the solvency of Social Security and Medicare.”The report states:
As of 2020, 16.3 percent of Americans aged 65 or older were living in the United States. This record-breaking figure is projected to rise to 20.4 percent by 2040. The declining number of children caring for elderly parents will have a harder time due to this demographic shift. Additionally, it will increase the pressure on Medicare and Social Security. These programs are funded from wages paid to Americans working.
Republicans said that faster population growth was a good thing. “especially pressing”According to current estimations, the U.S. economy will grow by 3% in 2012. “grow at a historically slow pace”1 to 1.5 percent each year. The report states that this slow rate can be attributed in part to low fertility rates, which has slowed the growth of the population.
“The U.S. total fertility rate was 1.7 births per woman as of 2021, which is well below the replacement level of 2.1 births per woman,”According to the report.
The report also pointed to abortion’s impact on diversity in the United States. The specific report focused on how many black women had abortions, at an average rate of 23.8 Per 1,000. “nearly four times the rate at which white women have abortions.”
Non-Hispanic Black women accounted for 38.4 percent in all abortions. This compares to the 33.4 percent non-Hispanic women. This is a remarkable percentage considering that only 12.9 percent of women in the world are black and 60% are white. The report states:
The result is a U.S. citizen population that’s less racially- and ethnically diverse than if abortion were allowed. The selective abortion of children with disabilities also decreases diversity. JEC Republicans previously reported that the future population of Americans with Down syndrome will be reduced by selective abortion. This report was more than half a century old.
JEC Republicans further estimated that based on the U.S.’s 2019 count of 3.7million live births, ending abortion would lower the unborn infant mortality rate by 14 percentage points.
All the figures and facts are in support of Republicans’ conclusion about abortion. “at its core is a moral issue rather than an economic one.”
“But even in economic terms, arguments that abortion positively affects the economy fail to recognize the cost of abortion to unborn babies and to society more broadly. These costs far outweigh the short run labor market benefits of abortion frequently cited by economists and policymakers,”Conclusion of the report
The full article is available here here