The Harms of Denying a Woman a Wanted Abortion Findings from the Turnaway Study

Denying a woman an abortion creates economic hardship and insecurity which lasts for years.

• Women who were turned away and went on to give birth experienced an increase in household poverty lasting at least four years relative to those who received an abortion.
• Years after an abortion denial, women were more likely to not have enough money to cover basic living expenses like food, housing and transportation.
• Being denied an abortion lowered a woman’s credit score, increased a woman’s amount of debt and increased the number of their negative public financial records, such as bankruptcies and evictions.

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