Eliminating abortion rights would be harmful to the US economy, says Yellen

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that eliminating women’s access to abortion would have “very harmful effects” on the US economy, preventing some women from completing their education, reducing the lifetime income potential and keeping some out of the workforce.

Yellen’s comments at a Senate Banking Committee hearing came just over a week after the leak of a draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn the historic Roe v. Wade of 1973, which established the constitutional right to abortion.

The leak of the decision, still pending, has fueled fears that many states could enact sweeping restrictions on medical procedures.

The issue dominated a hearing on the US Treasury’s Financial Stability Oversight Board’s annual report.

Yellen, the first woman to hold her current position, said in response to a question from a senator that, according to polls, the Roe v. Wade has had a favorable impact on the well-being of children and that denying women access to abortion increases their chances of living in poverty or on public assistance.

“I believe that eliminating women’s rights to make decisions about when to have children or not would have very damaging effects on the economy and set women back decades,” Yellen said.

Yellen’s comments were rebuked by Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, who said the secretary’s approach to the economic consequences of the abortion debate was “harsh” and inappropriate for such a painful social issue.

“I think people can disagree on the question of being pro-life or pro-abortion. But in the end, I think framing this in the context of workforce participation seems insensitive to me,” Scott said, adding that he was raised by a single black mother in poverty.

In response, Yellen said that reproductive rights allow women to plan a “gratifying and fulfilling” life, which includes having the financial resources to raise a child.

“In many cases, abortions are carried out by adolescent women, mainly low-income and often black women, who are unable to take care of their children, have unexpected pregnancies and which often deprive them of the ability to continue their studies to later participate in the workforce,” Yellen said.

“So there is an effect on labor force participation, but that means children will grow up in poverty and have worse living conditions,” Yellen said. “That’s not hard. This is the truth,” she added.

Other Democrats came to Yellen’s defense, including Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, who advised Scott not to “impose your experience and circumstances on others until you put yourself in their shoes.”

Senator Tina Smith, a Democrat from Minnesota and another member of the banking panel, told CNN that Yellen expressed a fundamental truth about female empowerment.

“She was expressing what I believe almost every woman knows: if you don’t have control over your reproductive life, you don’t have control over any aspect of your life, including your economic opportunity,” Smith said.