We can work together toward economic justice, but we have to be willing to honestly speak our truths, even when it means conflict with our political tribes. But there are more of us willing to try than the social media echo chamber would indicate. Many people who are primarily concentrated on the legality and financing of abortion will not embrace this mission. These reforms will save lives while giving women more options when they have unplanned pregnancies. Rather than duke it out with abortion rights advocates on the state level, why not collaborate with them? There is no reason the two camps cannot work together toward policies like eliminating state TANF caps (which financially penalize low-income women for giving birth) or abolishing the practice of paying a lower minimum wage to those in the service industry, making them reliant on tips for their livelihood. If that is your definition of winning, then you will have won. I call especially on people who, like me, are religiously opposed to abortion. But whether you count yourself as supporting a philosophy of “choice” or “life,” you are not being consistent unless you are also working toward the end of poverty-for as long as mothers are stuck in poverty, they have neither true freedom nor a fully dignified life. For myriad reasons, there will continue to be people who become pregnant and do not wish to give birth.
But raising a child can seem like an overwhelming and unaffordable choice.Īlleviating poverty would not end abortion, but it would reduce the demand for it. But raising a child can seem like an overwhelming and unaffordable choice.įor many women, abortion is not the desired outcome to a pregnancy. For many women, abortion is not the desired outcome to a pregnancy. But their budget will not stretch to include lean proteins. Yes, mothers who put high-fat, high-carb meals on the table know that the family diet is unhealthy. But as people who took out such loans told me in interview after interview, no reputable lender is interested in their urgent need for cash. Yes, people who sign predatory loans know they are getting ripped off. Those of us in more comfortable circumstances can forget that poverty narrows options. It is an argument for workplace and societal changes that would make raising a child an option that is compatible with earning a living, regardless of gender. Families headed by a single mother are in particularly dire straits they are about five times as likely to be in poverty as families headed by a married couple.Īll of this is not an argument for abortion. Parenting is punished in this country, and the punishments are multiplied for mothers, who continue to do the lion’s share of caregiving and are more likely to sacrifice their careers as a result.
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Yellen did not mention that the same research showed that economic hardship was reduced in states with more generous benefits from Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), the puny remnant of the federal Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (what was once commonly called “welfare”) in the United States.īut the United States trails other wealthy countries on all sorts of support for families with children, including paid parental leave, time off to respond to family emergencies and free college. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has one view of how abortion fits into this: She recently said that abortion access helps women earn more and cited research showing that women who were denied abortions reported more economic hardships than those who obtained abortions. In a country with a petrified national minimum wage and child care that is neither affordable nor sufficiently available, families are feeling squeezed. In fact, 75 percent of the people who have abortions in the United States are poor or low-income, according to the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute. But the pro-choice position can ignore the reality that many women feel pressure not to continue a pregnancy because having a child will deepen their own poverty and that child will face a life of scarcity-leaving not much of a real choice. Yes, it is ironic when pro-life activists oppose social programs that can help children thrive. But I wish we would stop punishing them for having children. I do not believe that people should be punished for having an abortion. Wade, as well as news coverage of the topic, here. Read other views on abortion and the possible reversal of Roe v. Editor’s note: This article is part of The Conversation with America Media, offering diverse perspectives on important and contested issues in the life of the church.
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