By FATIMA HUSSEIN, Related Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s look earlier than a Senate committee took an surprising and tense detour into the abortion debate Tuesday when senators questioned her in regards to the potential influence of an abortion ban on the American economic system.
“I consider that eliminating the fitting of ladies to make choices about when and whether or not to have youngsters would have very damaging results on the economic system and would set girls again many years,” Yellen mentioned in response to a query from Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. He had launched the subject with a query on how an abortion ban may financially hurt girls.
Yellen’s reply drew a pointy response from Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who requested her, “Did you say that ending the life of a kid is sweet for the labor drive participation charge?”
“I feel individuals can disagree on the problem of being ‘pro-life’ or ‘pro-abortion’ — however framing it within the labor drive participation charge feels callous to me,” he mentioned, including that the dialog “to me appears harsh.”
Political Cartoons
Yellen responded: “This isn’t harsh, that is the reality.”
She continued by saying an abortion ban “deprives them of the flexibility to proceed their schooling,” and people impacted are mostly younger Black girls.
The road of questioning on the Senate Banking, Housing and City Affairs Committee got here after a Supreme Court docket draft opinion leaked final week that means the court docket is poised to throw out the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling that has stood for a half-century.
The listening to additionally touched on inflation, sanctions imposed on Russia and rising vitality prices. Yellen mentioned the U.S. “is targeted on every thing we are able to do to carry inflation down.”
The abortion concern got here up a number of instances. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., mentioned he disagreed with Yellen’s perspective, and provided his personal financial evaluation.
“I take a look at low delivery charges and an growing older inhabitants,” he mentioned, arguing that there are destructive financial impacts from abortion.
Quite a few financial analyses point out that limitations on entry to abortion can negatively influence individuals financially and in different methods.
Sarah Miller, a researcher on the College of Michigan, authored a paper with two others on the influence of abortion restrictions. The trio evaluated knowledge on girls who sought abortions at 30 clinics in 21 states however had been turned away as a result of they had been previous the clinics’ gestation restrict. Two-thirds ended up giving delivery.
“As we present in our paper,” Miller mentioned, an abortion ban “may have fairly extreme financial penalties for ladies to maintain their head above water,” including that “there is also bodily and psychological well being penalties.”
Committee chair Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, ended by saying that if Roe v. Wade had been overturned, each lady’s resolution to find out her reproductive future and well being can be “handed over to politicians.”
“It shouldn’t be handed over to me, it shouldn’t be handed over to Secretary Yellen, and it should not be handed over to Mitch McConnell,” he mentioned, referring to the Senate Republican chief.
Copyright 2022 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials will not be revealed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
