The Westerly Sun, Nov 4, 2022 | Time and again I hear anti-abortion extremists claim to care about protecting people or women’s health or pontificate about how much they love babies, but their actions or lack thereof on policies that would help support maternal health or ensure families can get by and thrive tell another story. What they really care about is holding onto power over us, our bodies, and our futures.
This is not just my opinion. A multi-year prospective longitudinal study conducted by the University of California-San Francisco found that people experience harm and financial hardship if they are denied a wanted abortion. The Turnaway Study examined the effects of unintended pregnancy on women’s lives and the short- and long-term impacts of being denied care.
The research found that not only was the mental and physical health of women greatly harmed by not being able to get the abortion care they want, but it also creates economic hardship and insecurity which lasts for years. Women who were turned away and went on to give birth experienced an increase in household poverty lasting at least four years relative to those who received an abortion.
People who want to ban all access argue that abortion is detrimental to women’s health, the data indicates that physical health is no worse in women who sought and underwent abortion and women who were turned away experienced worse mental health in the short-run. Women who were turned away whether due to denial of health coverage for abortion and the inability to pay out of pocket or because of other barriers were also found to experience poorer physical health and increased risk of physical violence.
Anti-abortion candidates are out there talking about life and yet their policy agendas abandon families by refusing to fund vital services like child care and maternal care and ignoring the negative impact of abortion bans.
If we truly want to create a strong economy and improve both the health and the financial well-being of Rhode Islanders, we need good-paying jobs and fair workplace policies, but we also need affordable access to abortion. For anyone in our state who can become pregnant and may need an abortion, these things are intrinsically linked.
That is why I am urging our state lawmakers to look for ways to support people who want to add to their families and be able to make ends meet in these tough times, but also to do all they can to address the barriers that push abortion care out of reach.
