President Joe Biden’s Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, has made an economic case for ensuring that all Americans have access to abortion services, arguing that half a century of allowing women to terminate their pregnancies has increased participation in the labor force.
“I believe that eliminating the right of women to make decisions about when and whether to have children would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades,” Yellen testified on Tuesday in a Senate hearing. She added that Roe v. Wade, the 1973 US Supreme Court ruling that abortion is a constitutional right, has allowed more women to work outside the home and finish schooling to boost their earnings potential.
The abortion issue was brought to the forefront last week, when a draft ruling by the US Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked to a media outlet. The leak spurred protests – including demonstrations outside the homes of Supreme Court justices – and prompted attacks on Christian groups, such as the firebombing of a Wisconsin organization that lobbies against abortion.
US Senator Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) took issue with Yellen’s testimony. He suggested that noting how abortion kept more women in the labor force was “callous” and “harsh.” Apparently astonished by her framing of the issue, he asked Yellen, “Just for clarity’s sake, did you say that ending the life of a child is good for the labor-force participation rate?”
Yellen replied, “I certainly don’t mean to say what I think the effects are in a manner that’s harsh. What we’re talking about is whether or not women will have the ability to regulate their reproductive situation in ways that will enable them to plan lives that are fulfilling and satisfying for them.”