GEIA Director quoted in U.S. News analysis about the expansive effects of limiting access to abortion
In 1992, as the Supreme Court affirmed a right to abortion, the majority famously held that “the ability of women to participate equally in the economic and social life of the Nation has been facilitated by their ability to control their reproductive lives.”
But earlier this summer, when the majority of justices agreed to roll back the right to an abortion, their wording seemed to suggest that the link between gender equality and abortion was a matter of opinion rather than fact, despite a large body of evidence that supports the idea that abortion is a key component to achieving equality – with implications for women’s social and economic opportunities.
As states look to further limit access to abortion, the impact of their decisions on women will likely be felt beyond the procedure, according to Shirley Graham, director of the Gender Equality Initiative in International Affairs at George Washington University. She says that taking away the ability for women to have control over their reproductive health “affects everything else.”
“If a woman has a child or children and she doesn’t have child care that is affordable or accessible, then she won’t be able to go to work and she won’t be able to provide for herself and for her family,” Graham says. “She won’t be able to fulfill her own potential in terms of her intellectual or creative expression or any other way that she wants to be fully human and express the full flourishing of her womanhood.”
