1A Remaking America: The strength of America's social safety net

WAMU 88.5 | By June Leffler

Published August 25, 2022 at 8:24 AM EDT

Anti-abortion protesters and pro-choice activists supporting legal access to abortion protest speak to each other during a demonstration outside the Supreme Court

Now that Roe v. Wade is overturned, most Republican-led states are cracking down on abortion access.

New restrictions are going into effect this week in Idaho, Texas, and Tennessee. More than 20 million women have lost access to abortion in their home state, according to reporting from The Washington Post.

So how will this affect women? Researcher Diana Greene Foster conducted “The Turnaway Study”, which followed hundreds of women for five years after they were denied an abortion. These women ended up being worse for wear financially and physically than their counterparts.

Reporting shows many states that have enacted abortion bans are less likely to offer expanded Medicaid coverage and guaranteed paid family leave. Just a few Republican lawmakers are pushing for more support at the federal level.

This conversation is part of our Remaking America collaboration with six public radio stations around the country. Remaking America is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.