skip to main content

Thursday, June 1, 2023

play newscast audioPlay

WI working family advocates shine a spotlight on Reps' voting records; a new report says that Phoenix area can't meet groundwater demands; Nevada sporting community sends top 10 priorities to Gov. Lombardo's desk.

play newscast audioPlay

The Senate aims to get the debt limit spending bill to President Biden's desk quickly, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis makes a campaign stop in Iowa, and a new survey finds most straight adults support LGBTQ+ rights.

play newscast audioPlay

Oregon may expand food stamp eligibility to some undocumented households, rural areas have a new method of accessing money for roads and bridges, and Tennessee's new online tool helps keep track of cemetery locations.

Report: Lifting Abortion Restrictions Would Benefit Women, Economy

play audio
Play

Thursday, June 3, 2021   

TAMPA, Fla. - Ending reproductive-health restrictions is beneficial for women and the economy, according to an online tool from the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

This year, more than 500 bills restricting or banning abortion have been introduced across 46 states, including Florida.

Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said the data show if all state-level abortion restrictions were eliminated, more than a half-million women would enter the workforce, and annual earnings for all women would increase by an average of more than $1,600 a year.

"We know at the national level, the state-level abortion restrictions cost $105 billion per year by reducing labor-force participation and earnings," Johnson reported.

The research showed if all abortion restrictions were lifted, the estimated earnings increase for working women in Florida would be more than $6 million.

On May 17th, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments challenging a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks.

It's a case Johnson contended strikes at the heart of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that made abortion legal.

"All of this is happening against the majority of public opinion," Johnson asserted. "In every single state - not just national public opinion, but literally every single state - a majority of Americans believe that Roe should be the law of the land."

She noted a ruling upholding the Mississippi law would put the reproductive rights of 25 million women at risk in states where abortions could be banned.

Johnson pointed out access to birth control has been responsible for one-third of women's wage gains since the 1960s. And with reproductive rights under threat, in so many states and the Supreme Court, making those connections will be critical.

"This new tool to give us data around making the economic case for abortion access, in a moment where access and the right are very much on the line," Johnson remarked. "It's just going to be so instrumental for our fight."

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the Mississippi case in the new term that starts in October. A decision is likely by June of next year.




get more stories like this via email
A new park, San Vicente Redwoods, opened up late last year near Santa Cruz, Calif., in an area previously ravaged by fire and logging. (Nadia Hamey)

Environment

play sound

This Saturday, June 3, thousands of Californians will be among hundreds of thousands of Americans heading into the great outdoors to celebrate …


Social Issues

play sound

A coalition of Wisconsin groups is asking Gov. Tony Evers to reject bills it contends would make it harder for people struggling to get by to bounce …

Social Issues

play sound

Two months from today, Minnesota will begin the process of removing low-level marijuana convictions for those who have them on their criminal records…


Alabama is one of only three states still applying its full state sales tax on the purchase of groceries and food items. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Groups working to fight poverty in Alabama are urging state senators to approve a bill aimed at lowering food costs for families. House Bill 479 …

Social Issues

play sound

Navigating college can seem overwhelming for first generation students, but an early outreach program at Arizona State University aims to change it…

The Biden administration announced changes to income driven repayment plans in January. (Ljupco Smokovski/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A proposal from the federal government could provide a better path toward student loan debt repayment, but a new survey finds many borrowers don't …

Environment

play sound

Maine lawmakers are considering two pieces of legislation which supporters said are needed to ensure "responsible" development of offshore wind projec…

Social Issues

play sound

As the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, senior centers in Virginia are welcoming back their participants, and one in particular has shifted some of …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021