Overturning Roe v Wade
A Deeper Look into Long Term Issues
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something mLast month, on June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court decided to overturn Roe v Wade. To better define the situation, Roe v Wade was a Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision made in 1973 in which SCOTUS struck down Texas law banning abortion. In doing so, it legalized performing and having abortions across the during the first two trimesters of pregnancy in the US. Recently, Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion along with four other conservative justices. The other liberal justices voted to keep the Roe v Wade decision intact. All of this has been circulating around the news for quite some time. To sum it up, abortions can be banned in some states (even in cases of rape or incest). However, there’s more to it than that. Let’s take a deeper look into the long term issues.
Having an abortion is expensive. Infact, according to Planned Parenthood, “Medication abortions, including a two-drug regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol, can be safely used within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, and can cost up to $750 without insurance.” On the flip side, a surgical abortion can run you more than $2,000 out of pocket. With the possible banning of abortions, prices are only going to increase considering that reproductive may not be considered on healthcare insurance coverage. With federal funding for abortions being cut off through the Hyde Amendment made in 1976, States have to choose their own budgets to support abortion and other reproductive health coverage. But over 30 states have chosen not to do so, leaving hundred’s of thousands of women seeking abortions to fend for themselves. Just six states- California, Maine, New York, Illinois, Washington, and Oregon- require abortions to be covered on private health insurance plans.
The Roe v Wade Decision had financial implications not just for women but so the country as a whole. Women lose about 18% of their salary when taking a leave due to reasons such as abortions, maternity leave, etc and they can lose up to 37% of their salary (when compared to their counterparts) when they spend more than 3 years being unemployed. According to the American Journal of Public Health, “Women who were unable to get an abortion were three times more likely to be unemployed after six months as compared with women who were able to get an abortion”. In addition, women who are denied abortions had additional costs included such as the cost for doctor’s appointments, prenatal vitamins, and birth. With decreased pay but increased expenses for women who were refused abortion, how does one expect her to raise a child and work to sustain that child when it’s born? With the rising cost of childcare due to the pandemic, that seems next to impossible.
As the class of 2023 is now in the midst of applying to college, it’s also beneficial to keep in mind how Roe v Wade has affected the admissions process. A survey conducted by Leelila Strogov, CEO of AtomicMind, asked 250 students between the ages of 17 and 29 if Roe v Wade being overturned will impact which college they will choose to attend. Nearly half of respondents (45.8%) said it would. However, the more surprising part was that men were about 7% more likely to consider the decision than women did. Leelia Strogov, looking over the results of her survey, hypothesized that about half the students voted no on the survey because “being sexually active is not even remotely on their minds” and the other half voted yes because the students have the view point of “I don’t want to end up in a state that might criminalize me”. Regardless of which student answered yes or no on the survey, the fact is that it may be harder to get into schools in liberal states, but easier to get into schools in conservative states due to the influx of applicants wanting to get out of conservative states.
The overturning of Roe v Wade has many long term implications from reduced healthcare coverage, declined economic growth, and increased college admission competition. The Roe v Wade overturning not only affecting women looking to get abortions but others as well. To combat these issues, it’s important to support resources that aid people through abortions or support their decision to not have one.
By: Diksha Krishnaswamy