A post on this topic was one of the first I wrote for Vox Nova, back during our innocent early days! Let’s have a quick look at the statistics pertaining to abortion in the United States. Since 1980, the pattern of abortion has been trending downwards, with the abortion rate falling by about 10 percentage points between 1980 and 2005. Although the trend was more or less continuous, the steepest decline occurred during the 1990s. Matching rates of decline to presidential terms is enlightening. Under the Republican administrations of the period (Reagan, Bush I, Bush 2), the abortion rate fell by an average 0.3 percentage points a year. During Democratic administrations (Clinton), it fell by 0.5 percentage points a year. A steep rate of decline during the Clinton years was somewhat arrested under his successor. It is no coincidence that the Clinton years coincided with declining poverty rates, rising employment rates, and– for the first time since the early 1980s– a boost in productivity that was broadly shared among all income groups.
Looking at who has abortions shows clearly the link to socio-economic circumstances. The abortion rate among women living below the federal poverty level ($9,570 for a single woman with no children) is more than four times that of women above 300% of the poverty level (44 vs. 10 abortions per 1,000 women). And when asked to provide reasons, three-quarters of women cited economic hardship, saying they could not afford a child, and the same percentage claimed that a having a baby would “interfere with work, school or the ability to care for dependents.”
I’ve looked before at a simple comparison of abortion and poverty rates. And now a new study has come out, using far more sophisticated methodology to examine the links between economic policies aimed at supporting low-income families affect the abortion rate across US states. The results are interesting. I’ll summarize briefly. First, states that spent $1,350 more per person living in poverty showed a 20% decrease in abortion. Second, a family cap for families receiving government assistance increases the number of abortions, and getting rid of it would decrease abortions by 15 percent. Third, states with more generous grants to women, infants and children under the age of five have a 37 percent lower abortion rate. Fourth, higher male employment in the 1990s was associated with a 29 percent reduction in the abortion rate.
Being honestly pro-life, being genuinely concerned about abortion, meanings addressing these critical socio-economic issues, fighting for real “family values”. Otherwise it is mere posturing.
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