Overturning Roe v. Wade Is an Attack on Women's Economic Security, Says CEPR Expert

Shawn Fremstad, Senior Policy Fellow at The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), responds to the published leaked draft of the Supreme Court majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that explicitly overturns Roe v. Wade:

"By overruling Roe v. Wade (1974) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), the Supreme Court would end federal constitutional protections for abortion. The radical draft majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization would also set the stage for overturning a host of other Supreme Court decisions that promote reproductive and gender justice.

"Reproductive and gender justice are central to bodily autonomy and economic security. In Casey, the Supreme Court acknowledged that the 'ability of women to participate equally in the economic and social life of the Nation has been facilitated by their ability to control their reproductive lives.'

"Economic research conducted over the three decades since Casey has only strengthened the evidence for this conclusion. As economists Kate Bahn and Maryam Janani-Flores note in a recent research review, 'research on the early broad-based dissemination of the birth control pill and on restrictions for abortion services ... finds that autonomy over family planning choices is directly linked to a woman's job opportunities and financial security.'

"Similarly, an amicus brief in Dobbs signed by 154 distinguished economists and researchers detailed the 'substantial body of well-developed and credible research' finding that abortion legalization and access in the United States has increased women's educational attainment and job opportunities, and had other positive effects on women's lives.

"The Court's decision is not yet final, but the draft majority opinion leaked yesterday makes clear that a majority of the Court has little regard for longstanding Supreme Court precedent or the decades of economic research finding that abortion and other reproductive health care remain essential for gender and economic equality."

Fremstad is available for comments to the press on this issue.