Katya Schwenk
Audio By Carbonatix
Arizona’s current abortion laws don’t just restrict the ability of women to make decisions about their bodies. They also cost the state billions of dollars a year, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Grand Canyon Institute.
Abortion after the 15th week of pregnancy is illegal in Arizona under a 2022 law signed by former Gov. Doug Ducey. Along with the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, GCI says that the law could result in a 1% decrease in the state’s workforce and cost Arizona $3.4 billion a year in gross domestic product.
“We hear a lot about abortion policies on the campaign trail, but we really haven’t heard much about the broader implications of these policies,” said Cary Funk, a senior research fellow at GCI. “It may be surprising to people to see how far-ranging the effects of these policies really extend.”
The question of reproductive rights has been a hot one in Arizona since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Earlier this year, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that a near-total abortion ban passed in 1864 took precedence over the 2022 law signed by Ducey, leading to a frantic effort to repeal the Civil War-era law.
The 15-week ban is the law of the state, though Arizona voters will have the chance to change that in November. Proposition 139 would enshrine a right to abortion in the state constitution up to the point of fetal viability, which is generally 23 or 24 weeks after conception.
If the proposition fails, though, GCI says it could have disastrous impacts on the state’s economy. There are almost 1.4 million Arizonans ages 15 to 44 who are directly affected by the state’s health policies, which are considered “very restrictive” by the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research organization.
Individuals and families experience an average loss of nearly $10,000 a year in wages related to the state’s policies, per GCI. Most women seeking an abortion are at a “key life stage for job building skills that pave the way for lifetime earnings potential,” which heightens the financial strain of an unwanted pregnancy, according to the report.
GCI’s report cites a study – called the Turnaway Study – conducted by the University of California, San Francisco, that showed the effect being denied an abortion has on financial stress. Per that study, women denied a wanted abortion experienced a 78% increase in past-due debts compared with before their pregnancies. These women also have an 81% increased probability of public records indicating financial distress, such as bankruptcies, tax liens and evictions.
Other restrictions, such as required in-person counseling, medically unnecessary ultrasounds, parental consent for minors, banning of mailed abortion pills and more, also delay, complicate and increase the cost of care.
Arizona ranks 44th out of 50 states for women’s health and reproductive care, according to the Commonwealth Fund.
Katya Schwenk
Making health care worse
The state’s health care system is already suffering due to its abortion policies. As cited in GCI’s report, Arizona ranks 44th out of 50 states for women’s health and reproductive care, according to the Commonwealth Fund. Compared with other states, Arizona underperforms when it comes to maternal mortality rates, health insurance coverage and access to abortion clinics.
Any improvements to that ranking are unlikely as there has also been a strain on the medical workforce in the state related to its abortion policies.
“We’re already seeing broader implications on the health care workforce” after the fall of Roe v. Wade, Funk explained. Medical students have “concerns about completing their training in a state like Arizona that has restrictive abortion policies,” she added, leading them to go elsewhere for their education.
The Association of American Medical Colleges reported an 18.3% decrease in applications for medical residences in the state – a decrease rivaled only by Alabama and Mississippi, which both saw slightly larger declines. The U.S. only experienced a 0.4% drop nationwide. By 2030, the country is expected to see a 10% decrease in the supply of obstetricians and gynecologists, which will not meet demand, Funk said.
Those denied abortion also fall behind in higher education. Women who become pregnant before the age of 24 and have access to abortion care are 42% more likely to enter college and 72% more likely to earn their degree than those who don’t have access, according to an analysis by American University economist Kelly Jones that was cited in GCI’s report.
A decision about one’s body is inherently personal, but GCI’s report shows the knock-on effects created when choices are limited. Abortion access can influence who moves to Arizona and the quality of medical care Arizonans enjoy. It can determine who begins a career and who winds up in debt due to an unwanted pregnancy.
All of it carries a cost – to women and to the state as a whole.
“Our civic discourse about abortion is one where emotions can run very high,” Funk said. She hopes GCI’s report can bring “a different lens to the conversation and highlight those far-ranging economic implications.”
