Although people might debate the legal or moral aspects of abortion, there is also the economic impact to consider. Since Roe v. Wade made elective abortion legal in 1973, there have been more than 50 million abortions in the U.S. The financial impact to the economy has been estimated at some $35 trillion,
LifeNews.com reports.
Here are six impacts abortion has had on the economy:
1. Having babies stimulates the economy. Parents buy items from diapers to college textbooks for people who later produce goods by working at jobs. Fewer babies mean fewer products are made and sold.
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2. A baby born today is an American worker in the future, which means contributions to the overall economy. Infants grow up to not only work but also pay taxes. Fewer people mean fewer tax contributions.
The Canada Free Press describes legalized abortion as a "financial holocaust" to the U.S.
Since abortion was legalized, the financial impact of those Americans not working or contributing to society could have cost as much as $27 trillion in lost tax revenue.
3. However, a study of banned abortions in Romania beginning in the 1960s had mixed results. Children born right after the family planning ban had better schooling and more success in the workplace,
according to the Columbia University study. But the ban significantly affected the growth of poorer families where children had worse educational and job market achievements.
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4. Pro-life proponents note that of the 50 plus million Americans lost to abortion, many of them could have made significant contributions to the quality of people's lives. For example, many of those not born could have made advances in medicine, science, business and the arts,
according to the Illinois Review.
5. A disproportionate amount of minorities have abortions compared to whites. "The abortion rate for black women is almost five times that for white women," stated Susan Cohen in 2008 in the Guttmacher Policy Review. The black population size in America has remained almost unchanged since abortion was legalized compared to significant growth in other minority populations.
6. A declining birth rate puts a heavier burden on the young to support the old, according to pro-life advocates. China's one birth per family policy implemented in 1979 now has its government struggling with fewer and fewer young workers to support an aging population, according to LifeNews.com. America's similar decline in the birth rate threatens to lead to the same issues.
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