While Roe v. Wade may have lead to the nation-wide legalization of abortion, the debate over the issue is far from over. Many Americans disagree with the ruling and states like Alabama have passed laws making abortion nearly impossible with the intent of eventually undoing Roe v. Wade.
I think before decisions are made, it's important to look back on the effects of Roe v. Wade.
Firstly, in AP Micro we learned that legalizing abortion actually reduces crime. The National Bureau of Economic Research found that Roe v. Wade lead to a 45% decrease in crime over the past few decades. This was shown particularly in violent crime and property crime rates which fell dramatically in the period after the legalization of abortion.
Personally I think this is because many women who have abortions are often desperate or lack the tools required to raise a child (teenage pregnancy, poverty, rape, unable to provide a stable home, left by the father, etc), and children raised in that type of environment have a higher chance of falling into crime.
Secondly, Roe v. Wade greatly decreased deaths by (illegal) abortion. Before the ruling, 17% of deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth were due to abortion. Now the likelihood of a woman sustaining serious complications due to abortion have dropped to 0.05%. Currently risk due to childbirth is 14x as high as it is for getting an abortion.
Thirdly, Roe v Wade lead to a shift in the role of women in society. Women are marrying later now than they did before the ruling (average age went from 22 to 27) and many will never marry (estimated 25% of todays female youth). Women now have an active and important role in the workforce, and that has only increased in the decades after Roe v. Wade. Without access to abortion, low-income women and their children are much more likely to stay low-income for generations.
It is probable there will be attempts to overturn Roe v. Wade in the near future, and I think it is important to consider the above before anything is done.
I agree that the legalization of abortion has lead to a lot of advances to women. However, I don't believe it is reasonable to credit this legalization with reduced crime rates, as there were many influences in this decrease (more about that here: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/what-caused-the-crime-decline/477408/). However, there has definitely been an increase in woman taking on important roles in the workforce. I do believe that this is related to abortion legalization, as women can chose if and when they wish to take time off to become a mother, and many women chose to first pursue their education and career.
ReplyDeleteYeah there's conflicting data about the causes of the trend, but the National Bureau of Economic Research did attribute it to legalized abortion. I think the impact on women in the workforce is the most important result personally.
DeleteYou bring up some interesting points about this issue that need to be talked about. However, I want to know more about how exactly the legalization of abortion exactly relates to a decrease in crime rates. You mention that low-income women probably do not have the right resources to raise a child properly, which is why their children have a higher probability for falling into crime. Are there any more concrete reasons or statistics? Also, what about high-income women who simply are not equipped to raise a child for similar reasons? (no father, wants to marry later and focus on career, etc.) What are the major pro-life arguments that oppose abortion in these cases? I think that the situation of high-income women should be considered when looking at the legalization of abortion as well.
ReplyDeleteThe statistic is from the National Bureau of Economic Research. I could be wrong about the reasons for abortions reducing crime, that was just a theory I had based on psychology research about how unstable homes can lead to crime. You are totally right that wealthy families could have similar issues. The major pro-life argument I found was that we don't have the right to 'play God,' just because we can predict where someone's life will go doesn't mean we have the right to end it.
DeleteI think it is interesting that you point out that the risk of death due to abortions decrease significantly when abortion is legalized (from 17% to 0.05%). This is most likely because when abortion is not legalized, women have to secretly get abortions, which can cause them to go to places that are not safe out of desperation. This phenomenon of activities getting safer when legalizing something happens many times. For example, this article by the Drug Policy Alliance http://www.drugpolicy.org/issues/marijuana-legalization-and-regulation states that by legalizing marijuana, there can be federal standards that would be introduced that would make marijuana safer. When not legalized, people would have to go underground to get marijuana where it might not be regulated, causing marijuana to be much more dangerous. The same can be said of abortions and why abortions should be legalized.
ReplyDeleteTo add on to what Aaron is saying this notion of things getting safer when legalized can also be shown by Prohibition, or more specifically, taking down Prohibition. Because alcohol was illegal, people would have to go to more dangerous areas or get themselves into unsafe situations to get it. When the re-legalized it, people could legally buy alcohol and it was much safer. This can also be compared to teenagers. Once you make something okay, it gets safer and less cool in a way. For example, if your parents said yeah you can drink just do it at home. This means that you won't have to sneak out in the middle of the night or go to a sketchy place to drink. This ultimately make drinking safer just by normalizing it. This is seen also with legalizing alcohol and by legalizing abortion.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting post, and it addressed many different aspects of the issue I hadn't thought about before(like the crime rates statistics). While I agree that all of your points are important to consider, I also think that the arguments you make would do little to persuade pro-life advocates to support Roe v. Wade. Given that the pro-life opinion is strongly based on the belief that the unborn child's potential for life should be given paramount priority, I don't think that many who strongly oppose the decision would change their minds because of decreased crime rates(which may or may not be directly related) or because of its potential to shift women's role in society(which could arguably be done in other ways). I was curious as to what you(or anyone else) thought might compel those who are pro-life to reconsider the benefits of pro-choice? Or, if anything, what would compel them to at least reconsider their stance on Roe v. Wade?
ReplyDeleteI found your blog post extremely interesting to read. I had never really thought about the affect of abortions on crime rates, and had more just considered the individual rights that women should have as people protected under the Constitution. While I agree that your points are important, pro-life supporters probably have already been told all of this information and choose not to support abortion anyway. Just like those of us who are pro-choice would find it very difficult to be swayed towards the pro-life side, I think it goes both ways. The facts are there - people are just entitled to their own opinions and it's extremely difficult to change that. I am not sure what I would say could convince someone who is pro-life to change their mind, but I still found your article really interesting.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this. You bring up some interesting points. I had thought about the effect that legal abortions had, but didn't realize that there was pretty concrete evidence on the subject. I disagree with Jackie's comment above. I think that pro-Lifers have been blindsided by their religious views and have not given proper thought towards the concrete effects that legal abortion creates. While people may be entitled to their opinions, it's important that in these issues that people's livelihoods depend on, to bring the factual evidence to light. To a pro-lifer, I would emphasize what "choice" entails and the benefits that abortion brings to certain people.
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