Economic policy and abortion are not separate issues; they form one moral imperative. Rhetoric is hollow, mere tinkling brass, without health care, health insurance, jobs, child care, and a living wage. Pro-life in deed, not merely in word, means we need policies that provide jobs and health insurance and support for prospective mothers.
The author researches the abortion rate for the past 20+ years and finds a “counter-intuitive, disturbing” result: abortion rates dropped during the 1990s, most during the latter half of the decade. Enter George W. Bush and a resulting 52,000 abortions that would not have occurred, had the downward trend continued.
The author points to three factors but they all tie back to one issue:
* 2/3rd of women terminated their pregnancies because they could not afford the child. “Not since Hoover had there been a net loss of jobs during a presidency until the current administration. Average real incomes decreased, and for seven years the minimum wage has not been raised to match inflation. With less income, many prospective mothers fear another mouth to feed.”
* Half of all women who abort say they lack a reliable mate. “In the 16 states overall, there were 16,392 fewer marriages than the year before, and 7,869 more abortions. As male unemployment increases, marriages fall and abortion rises.”
* Women worry about healthcare for themselves and their children. “Since 5.2 million more people have no health insurance now than before this presidency – with women of childbearing age overrepresented in those 5.2 million – abortion increases.”
This all comes down to the economic policies we’ve seen since 2000: it’s hard to claim we value children and families with statistics — and the stories to back them up — like these.