How much do abortions cost? For many, it’s already too much.

Although the right to abortion has been enshrined in U.S. law for nearly 50 years, the cost of the procedure has risen steadily and may now make it difficult for women to get care, according to new research from the University of California to San Francisco.

Abortion could become even more out of reach for millions of Americans if Roe v. Wade is downwhich would force many women to travel beyond their home state to receive treatment.

The Supreme Court seems ready to overturn the historic decision on abortion rights, according to a draft opinion first published by Politico. If terminated, those rights would fall to state lawmakers, with 26 states safe or likely to ban abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an organization that supports abortion rights.

A woman who underwent an abortion during the first trimester in 2020 paid about $ 515 (on an inflation-adjusted basis) for the procedure, an 8% increase over the average cost in 2017, U.S. researchers found. of California. Most people pay out-of-pocket abortion care because of regulations that limit federal funds, including Medicaid, from being used to pay for it. Some states also prevent insurance companies from covering the procedure.

Travel costs and lost wages can add hundreds of dollars more to the cost of seeking an abortion. Patients typically pay ancillary costs to seek care for abortion that can add up to more than $ 400 in transportation, lost wages, child care expenses and other costs, the study noted. In total, patients face out-of-pocket costs of nearly $ 1,000 to afford a first-trimester abortion, the study concluded.

Meanwhile, not being able to afford reproductive care can have long-term impacts on women’s economic security, experts say.

“Reproductive and gender justice are key to bodily autonomy and economic security,” said Shawn Fremstad, senior policy researcher at the Center for Economic and Political Research (CEPR). The ability to have control over family planning options has helped women secure job opportunities and financial security, Fremstad added.

Barrier to treatment

Even with abortion as a legal option in the United States, the costs of abortion can create a barrier to treatment, a reality that is perhaps not surprising, as research also shows that a quarter of Americans struggle. to pay an $ 400 emergency expense, according to the study’s authors. pointed out.

“Lack of financial resources can create an insurmountable barrier to abortion,” they wrote. “For many people, the cost of an abortion can exceed the ability to pay.”

For example, the out-of-pocket costs for an abortion in the first quarter of 2016, which later amounted to about $ 400, would have been “financially catastrophic” for households earning their state’s average monthly income in 39 states, according to the study.

The study found that second-trimester abortions are even more expensive, with an average cost of $ 1,014 in 2020. Drug-induced abortion, which involves taking two drugs, had an average cost of $ 537 in 2020.

The costs of abortion care could increase due to regulations and the impact of abortion COVID-19[feminine] The pandemic, which led to a widespread shortage of staff in the healthcare industry and rising medical costs, the researchers said.

Companies get into a fight

Some state lawmakers have already tried to restrict abortion rights, such as in Texas, which has banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant.

In response to these laws, some large corporations have added travel benefits for workers who need to travel to seek medical care, including abortions.

Citigroup added travel benefit in their job offers after Texas and other states enacted restrictive reproductive health care laws. And Amazon on Monday told its U.S. workers it would reimburse up to $ 4,000 in travel expenses for medical procedures, including abortions.

Si Roe v. Wade is fired, workers employed by some deep-pocket companies will likely have financial support to travel to states that are expected to preserve abortion rights, such as California or New York. But low- and middle-income women in states where abortion could become illegal, who do not have access to these labor benefits, could face financial hurdles.

“History shows that when abortion care is restricted, it is black and Hispanic people who are most challenged to get care,” the researchers said. “Prior to the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized abortion nationwide, middle-class white women in some states could get a legal abortion or travel abroad.”

In:
• Roe against Wade
• Abortion