Chelsea Clinton’s twisted argument about abortion and economic growth

Aug 23, 2018 by

by Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe:

Has abortion made America more prosperous? Chelsea Clinton seems to think so.

The former first daughter spoke recently at a “Rise up for Roe” event in New York City, one of a series of meetings organized by NARAL and Planned Parenthood to oppose the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. In the course of her remarks, she suggested that one way to strengthen support for keeping abortion legal and readily available is to emphasize what a boon Roe v. Wade has been for the US economy.

“American women entering the labor force from 1973 to 2009 added three and a half trillion dollars to our economy,” Clinton said. “The net, new entrance of women — that is not disconnected from the fact that Roe became the law of the land in January of 1973.”

As Clinton sees it, the freedom to destroy unborn children has been a powerful economic stimulus. Her argument is that by legalizing abortion nationwide, Roe freed more women to go to work unencumbered by motherhood, and those women over time have added $3.5 trillion to the US economy.

As a matter of history, economics, and — above all — morality, this is a singularly wretched argument.

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