Reproductive Justice as a political practice stands for the right to have a child, the right to not have a child, and the right to parent a child safely. All of these things are impacted by and in turn impact economic stability and security. This Reproductive Justice Month, as we explore what the overturning of Roe v. Wade means for the state of the country, I want to highlight the experiences of poor gender marginalized people, and what this overturning means for us.

When the news broke on June 24th, I was working. I was in Johnson Chapel, organizing bibliographies and reading 18th century poetry, when my friend shared that Roe v. Wade had been overturned. I Googled it, just so I could see it for myself, and it was true. What they had said was going to happen for the past month had happened. I closed up what I was working on, went outside, sat down in a chair on the top of the hill, and cried. I distinctly remember pressing my hand over my heart, feeling my heart beat so softly under the layers of skin and muscle.

I was crying because I felt scared, sad, and very, very alone. I had been thinking about what else could happen now that it was official, what additional protections would be lost. I thought about how a lot of gender marginalized people would face an intensified barrage of mistreatment: injury, violation of privacy, stripping of basic human rights. I thought about how they’d be imprisoned, targeted, and killed in the process. We.

I could say more about all of these, but right now I want to focus on something that is not as common in mainstream discourse: poverty. Gender marginalized people, already discriminated against in a variety of ways which leads to increased rates of poverty and homelessness, will face increased economic instability as a result of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Restricted access to abortion makes poor people poorer.

The Turnaway study, led by Professor and Dr. Diana Greene Foster, is a study based on interviews of over 1,000 people over the course of five years that explores why people seek abortions, what happens to them when they can get one, and what happens to them when they can’t. An article about the study was published in the American Journal of Public Health in 2018. The study found that the most common reason a person gave for having an abortion was not being able to afford a child, and oftentimes, it was that they couldn’t afford a second child. Already, before even becoming pregnant, they were at an economic disadvantage. The study also describes what happens when someone is denied a wanted abortion: reduction in full-time employment and increased household poverty, usage of public assistance programs, and food and housing insecurity. Overall, the study found that a lack of access to abortion services “nearly quadrupled the odds that a woman’s household income would be below the poverty line.” (LA Times) Restricted abortion rights makes people poor, and makes poor people poorer.

Restricting abortion does not just impact someone’s current household income and full-time employment. For one, restricted access to abortion also restricts economic and academic mobility. When gender marginalized people are forced to give birth, they are usually forced to cut back on full-time employment and education and sometimes need to leave work or school entirely, especially if they do not have access to a family or community network. And when gender marginalized people are unable to attain higher education, their professional opportunities are severely limited, particularly for higher paying positions.

Additionally, restricted abortion access disproportionately affects individual finances for those forced to carry out an unwanted pregnancy. The Turnaway Study, as mentioned above, found that people who were forced to give birth experienced lower credit scores, increased debt, and increased negative public financial records such as bankruptcies and evictions. These financial consequences ultimately led to increased household and childhood poverty.

Another major economic consequence exists within the medical industry. For nearly all of the states that have at least one restriction on abortion and bodily autonomy rights, there is no extended Medicaid postpartum coverage for complications from pregnancy and/or birth. So for lower income people, especially people of color who face disproportionate medical mistreatment and neglect, especially during labor and delivery, there is no health insurance to cover the complications they might have after birth. In turn, they encounter extreme medical debt. Restricted access to abortion makes poor people poorer.

Gender marginalized people of color, especially Black women, face significantly worse rates of medical negligence. The Black maternal mortality rate is over three times higher than that of white women. When poor Black women do not have Medicaid postpartum coverage, poverty rates are heightened. Not to mention, the existing gender wage gap is exacerbated by these restrictions on abortion. Women on average earn 17% less than men in 2022. And as we’ve seen, these rates are once again heightened for Black and Brown women. According to data from American Progress from 2019 and 2020, Black women earn 64 cents for every $1 earned by white men, Native women earn 60 cents, and Hispanic women earn 57 cents. These rates are also exacerbated by being forced to take leave or leave the workforce entirely due to having to raise another child, health complications from pregnancy, or mental illness as a result of forced birth. Restricted access to abortion makes poor people poorer.

Reproductive Justice as a political practice stands for the right to have a child, the right to not have a child, and the right to parent a child safely. You can advocate for reproductive justice in so many ways, such as providing accurate information about reproductive rights, volunteering and donating to practical support organizations, donating to abortion funds, and more. Here are some activists and organizations to follow:

@indigenouswomenrising
@sistersong_woc
@urge_org
@abortioncarenetwork

For Further Reading