Social Policy | |
How Abortion Affects Demographics |
Tomorrow will mark the 25th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe vs.
Wade, which legalized abortions in the U.S. Aside from the controversy still surrounding
the decision, some observers say abortion has had a significant demographic impact on
American society -- although no one knows how many of the terminated pregnancies were
replaced by later births.
How would these additional children have affected American society? If only one- third of those aborted were available to start work at age 18, the demise of Social Security would be put off for decades and there would already be 2.7 million additional workers. Also, without abortions, there would be 30 percent more young people, suggesting crime rates would be higher. The 35 million additional children would have required states and localities to come up with an additional $50 billion in educational funds this year. A kindergarten through 12th grade education for those potential children would have cost more than $1 trillion. By the time the peak of the baby boom generation reaches retirement age, the number of abortions since Roe vs. Wade will equal the number of births during the baby boom. Source: David Masteo, "Abortion Altered America's Future," USA Today, January 21, 1998. |