Janet Yellen, former Fed Chair and Treasury Secretary, makes financial arguments for ending pregnancies
President Joe Biden’s Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, has made an economic case for ensuring that all Americans have access to abortion services, arguing that half a century of allowing women to terminate their pregnancies has increased participation in the labor force.
“I believe that eliminating the right of women to make decisions about when and whether to have children would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades,”Tuesday’s Senate hearing saw Yellen give evidence. Elle said Roe v. Wade was the 1973 US Supreme Court case that gave birth to the constitutional right to abortion. It has made it easier for women to get jobs outside of the home, and to finish their education to improve their earnings.
A draft US Supreme Court ruling that would have overturned Roe v. Wade was released to a media outlet last week. This brought the abortion issue to attention. The leak spurred protests – including demonstrations outside the homes of Supreme Court justices – and prompted attacks on Christian groups, such as the firebombing of a Wisconsin organization that lobbies against abortion.
US Senator Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) took issue with Yellen’s testimony. He said that noticing how abortion keeps more women from the labour force was a problem. “callous”And “harsh.”He was apparently astonished at her handling of the matter and asked Yellen. “Just for clarity’s sake, did you say that ending the life of a child is good for the labor-force participation rate?”
Biden's Treasury HACK Janet Yellen says abortion is good for the economy— Sen. Tim Scott's response shames her into SILENCE pic.twitter.com/exx1RVz3EA
Yellen replied, “I certainly don’t mean to say what I think the effects are in a manner that’s harsh. What we’re talking about is whether or not women will have the ability to regulate their reproductive situation in ways that will enable them to plan lives that are fulfilling and satisfying for them.”
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White Treasury Secretary, however, noted that there was a racial aspect to her analysis. “In many cases, abortions are of teenage women – particularly low-income and often black, who aren’t in a position to be able to care for children.”Elle added that unplanned children are often the result of these women. “will grow up in poverty and do worse themselves. This is not harsh. This is the truth.”
Scott, who happens to be black, responded, “I’ll just simply say that as a guy raised by a black woman in abject poverty, I’m thankful to be here as a United States senator.” He also called Yellen’s comments “unusually piercing.”
Fox Business Network Host Charles Payne, who is also black, suggested that following Yellen’s abortion theory to its logical conclusion would mean “the near extinction of black people in America.”He said, “But also according to her logic, all those abortions would be great for the economy and those allowed to be born into it.”
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Yellen served as the Federal Reserve Bank’s former chairwoman before she resigned in 2017 after Donald Trump refused to appoint her for a second term.
US attempts to increase the number of women in the workforce date back almost a century. A 1940s propaganda campaign, featuring a character named “Rosie the Riveter,” encouraged women to take factory jobs to help support America’s war effort.
Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed the validity of the Supreme Court’s draft ruling. It is expected that the official ruling will be issued in early or late July. This would leave each state’s abortion issues up to their elected representatives.
