Roe v. Wade
is in the ash heap of history, and more than a dozen states have outlawed elective abortion. Yet, abortions are on the rise.
Women had 2,200
more abortions
in the 12 months following the June 2022 Supreme Court decision than they did in the previous 12, according to a
report
from the Society of Family Planning.
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The report is a sad reminder that overturning Roe v. Wade did not end abortion in the United States. However, it also serves as an important reminder that there is more to reducing the number of abortions than banning abortion.
While abortion bans can save lives, and one in Texas
resulted
in more live births in the second half of 2022, they are not the only component. Pregnancy prevention, supporting women who face unintended pregnancies, and changing hearts and minds also matter. The latter is essential among women, especially young women, since they, unlike men,
can get pregnant
. Therefore, they are the ones who ultimately decide whether or not to continue a pregnancy.
Arguably, the best way to prevent an abortion is to prevent an unwanted pregnancy in the first place. Ensuring that both men and women have access to high-quality birth control can help reduce the abortion rate. Whether that means the Food and Drug Administration
allowing
pharmacists to dispense oral contraceptives over the counter, states requiring health insurance companies to cover vasectomies for men, the federal government
increasing
Title X funding for non-abortion providers, or states
providing
free long-term birth control (including IUDs) for low-income women, the state needs to play an increased role in pregnancy prevention. These would also likely help reduce welfare costs for states.
While some religious pro-lifers may oppose such measures, it’s worth noting that no one would force people to use contraception. As a Catholic who personally believes contraception is sinful, I understand that others do not, nor do they wait until marriage to have sexual intercourse.
Increasing contraception access will not create a mentality in which people view abortion as a backup form of birth control; that already exists, hence why abortion is known as “Plan C.” We should follow the evidence. It shows contraception works.
Also, given that finances sometimes factor into a woman’s decision to abort a pregnancy, pro-natal policies could help reduce abortion rates.
Whether that means advocating a larger
child tax credit
, creating a
baby bonus scheme
or child allowance, reducing tariffs on baby supplies (including
formula
), abolishing the
marriage penalty
on the earned income tax credit, expanding
paid
(or
unpaid
) family leave, cutting healthcare and
child care
costs, or establishing
prenatal child support
, the pro-life side could champion many economic policies to help make abortion less common.
Plus, the pro-life side needs to reach young women to make them less supportive of abortion. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the public, unfortunately,
became
more supportive of abortion access following sharp backlash against the decision from the media, entertainment industry, corporations, special interest groups, and politicians.
Not to mention, a more holistic pro-life approach would allow the pro-life movement to make more progress in abortion reduction in blue states where the chances of enacting abortion restrictions are nonexistent.
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The pro-choice movement won by double digits at the ballot box on an abortion ballot question in
Kansas
last year and will likely do the same in
Ohio
this week. Liberals could likely wipe away abortion bans via referenda in almost any state.
The country’s rising abortion rate is a problem that warrants a pragmatic approach to save as many lives as possible. Hopefully, the pro-life movement embraces this approach rather than putting all of its energy into an unworkable and feeble 15-week national abortion ban that will not happen anytime soon.
Tom Joyce (
@TomJoyceSports
) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts.
