Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen entered one of the most politically charged US debates Tuesday, saying the economy would suffer if the Supreme Court significantly limits women’s access to abortion.
Eliminating the right to access abortion services “would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades,” Yellen told lawmakers during a Senate Banking Committee hearing, responding to a question from Democratic Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey.
Economic research, she added, suggested such a move would increase poverty levels for women and hurt the future earnings of children.
The draft of a Supreme Court ruling that would overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision leaked to a news outlet last week, and its authenticity was confirmed by the court.
The draft would strike down the half-century federal precedent that had given women the right to seek an abortion and would allow states to make their own laws and restrictions.
“What we’re talking about is whether women will have the ability to regulate their reproductive situation in ways that will enable them to plan lives that are fulfilling and satisfying to them,” said Yellen.
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