Though abortion has been debated in US politics for decades, the evidence is clear: access to legal abortion improves women’s lives (PDF).

In 2016 and 2018, the Urban Institute fielded the Survey of Family Planning and Women’s Lives (PDF) and conducted follow-up interviews with survey participants to understand their experiences with unplanned pregnancy, birth, and abortion. Findings from this work provide insights about how substantial new restrictions on abortion access would affect women’s lives.

(Note: In this post, we use the term “women” to align with the data sources referenced, but we acknowledge not all people who seek abortion identify as women.)

More than 8 in 10 women surveyed in 2016 said an unplanned birth would negatively affect a woman’s life, with more than half of women reporting a negative outcome for at least four of seven aspects of their lives. Most—close to 2 in 3—worried about negative effects on a woman’s education, followed by concerns about her income, mental health, and job.

Numerous studies confirm these perceptions—access to legal abortion improves women’s economic and social lives, and being denied an abortion creates economic hardship and financial insecurity for women and their children.

Summarized in an amicus brief (PDF) filed by more than 150 economists, research shows access to abortion improves women’s economic well-being. The Turnaway Study found women who received an abortion were less likely than those denied an abortion to experience financial hardship, receive public assistance, live in poverty, or report poor or fair health. If Roe is overturned, a lack of legal abortion access will cause women’s overall and economic well-being to suffer.

Women of color stand to lose the most. Already, abortion restrictions in the US disproportionately harm people of color, who are more likely to lack access to comprehensive reproductive health care. Multiple amicus briefs filed in support of Jackson Women’s Health Organization highlight the distinct harms abortion restriction would have on Black women in particular, who already face racial and socioeconomic barriers to reproductive autonomy.

Read the full article about the impact of legal abortion on women's lives by Emily M. Johnston at Urban Institute.