Abortion remains a stigmatized and often restricted medical procedure, making it difficult to study due to underreporting. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), a nearly 30 year survey tracking Americans from adolescence into adulthood, this study investigates the relationship between abortion access and socioeconomic outcomes. Researchers assessed abortion policy environments using four indicators: state Medicaid funding restrictions, parental consent requirements, local access to abortion providers, and mandatory waiting periods. The study linked these policy measures to participants’ socioeconomic outcomes, such as education and poverty levels, during adulthood.
Findings show that women who lived in less restrictive abortion policy environments during their adolescence were more likely to graduate from college and experience lower poverty levels by their mid-30s to early 40s compared to those in areas with stricter restrictions. A secondary analysis focused on women who experienced a teen pregnancy, comparing those whose pregnancies ended in abortion versus live birth. Women who had abortions were more likely to achieve higher education and better economic outcomes. The study highlights the critical role of abortion access in shaping economic futures and emphasizes the broader need for societal support for mothers, particularly teen mothers, to reduce the pressures of choosing between parenthood and financial stability.
“We live in a society that provides little to no support to mothers and parents, so much so that the U.S. Surgeon General just issued a warning about the stressors of parenthood. The results from this study not only imply that abortion access is critical for women’s economic futures, but that much more should be done to support mothers, especially teen moms,” says Bethany Everett, lead researcher on the study. “Women should not have to choose between motherhood or an education, or motherhood and not living in poverty. However, given how expensive childcare is and the lack of paid maternity leave, that is a sad choice many must make, especially young women.”
Full article can be read here.
Everett, B. G., & Taylor, C. J. (2024). Abortion and Women’s Future Socioeconomic Attainment. American Sociological Review, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00031224241292058