Reproductive rights are an economic issue

In the final run-up to the election, much discussion focused on which issues were most likely to impact its outcome, including the economy (consistently the top concern) and reproductive rights (consistently of greater concern to women voters). This dichotomy, however, is false. Reproductive rights are a critical economic issue.

According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), restrictive reproductive healthcare policies cost the U.S. economy an estimated $68 billion annually. These costs arise from reduced workforce participation, lower educational attainment, and diminished productivity. For example, eliminating restrictions would have led to an additional $8 billion in earnings by women in 2023. The restrictions disproportionately impact low-income women and women of color, exacerbating poverty and income inequality.

Employees want reproductive choices

Employers face increased absenteeism, retention challenges, and higher healthcare expenditures in states with restrictive reproductive policies. Additionally, legal liabilities from state-specific reproductive healthcare laws, particularly those restricting interstate travel and data privacy, pose significant risks for businesses operating across multiple states.

The ability to attract and retain talent is impacted by state reproductive policies as well. States with restrictive abortion policies are seen as less desirable for workers, with 70% of women and 59% of men ages 18-44 indicating that they would be discouraged from taking a job in a state that restricts abortion access. Indeed, workers overall prefer, by a margin of 2 to 1, to live in states where abortion is accessible.

As argued in these pages before, a functioning democracy is necessary for business and our economy to succeed. Gallup polling shows that 85% of Americans believe that abortion should be legal under all or certain circumstances. Yet that is not the reality in many states. The U.S. is now an international outlier on reproductive rights, becoming more restrictive at a time when democracies around the world are liberalizing their abortion laws.

In its 2023 review of the U.S., the U.N. Human Rights Committee noted that the erosion of reproductive rights signals a broader democratic backsliding, as we have seen in countries like Hungary. This shift threatens both economic and democratic stability, creating a dangerous precedent for undermining individual freedoms. Yet when given the chance, democracy prevails on this issue in the U.S.: In every state where abortion has been on the ballot—including Kansas, Kentucky, and Ohio—voters have sided with reproductive health access.

How businesses can help

Business can help to address these concerns, both by protecting the voting rights of their employees and through their own actions. First, for broader civic reasons that will also help on this issue, employers should encourage voter engagement by providing paid time off for employees to vote, especially in elections with reproductive rights on the ballot. While this is the law in some states, it is not the reality for many workers. Paid time off to vote makes the most difference for women and low-income workers—those most impacted when reproductive health access is restricted. By having workplace policies in place, workers will not have to play the boss-lottery when it comes to having the flexibility they need to vote.

One of the greatest impacts businesses have on reproductive rights is by offering inclusive and accessible benefits, including coverage for reproductive health services and travel for care from restrictive states. Employer-sponsored healthcare coverage is the largest source of coverage in the U.S., covering 153 million people.

Companies can advocate directly for policies that protect both reproductive rights and voting rights, recognizing the interconnectedness of bodily autonomy and democratic health. They can do so privately, educating officeholders about public policies that protect reproductive healthcare and voting rights—as well as bolster their businesses.

Companies may also want to take more public action. Consumers are four times more likely to believe companies should do more to promote social justice issues than remain silent, according to a 2024 survey conducted by Morning Consult. Many companies may prefer a collective approach, the “safety in numbers,” and can join coalitions like Don’t Ban Equality, which works with businesses to mitigate the harm of restrictions on workers and increase access to care through public policy.

Recognize the issues for what they are

Making these economic arguments is not meant to distract from the broader case against reproductive health restrictions. We know from international precedent and from growing evidence here in the U.S. that attempts to ban abortion do not, in fact, reduce the number of abortions. Rather, both infant mortality rates and maternal mortality rates are rising. No argument should be stronger than women and babies dying.

But in an election focused heavily on the economy, it may also be helpful to recognize reproductive rights as the economic issue that they are. Reproductive health restrictions have enormous costs in terms of the lives and fertility of women and babies—and they have huge economic costs that impact the broader economy and individual businesses. It is up to voters and businesses to protect the reproductive rights that help our families, our economy, and our democracy to thrive.

Susan McPherson is the founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies, and a strategic advisor for Don’t Ban Equality. Michelle Greene is a senior advisor leading the Women and Democracy Initiative at the Leadership Now Project. Erika Lucas is founder of StitchCrew and VEST, and a Don’t Ban Equality signatory.