Estimating the economic impact of restricting reproductive healthcare access in Ohio

This study analyzes the economic impacts of Ohio's Senate Bill 23, which would ban abortion care after fetal cardiac activity is detected.

Leveraging previous research and publicly available datasets, a unique set of calculations were developed to determine abortion outcomes, individual costs, and public costs in three scenarios in which abortion care is banned in Ohio. Scenario 1 assumes that all abortion care is sought out-of-state. Scenario 2 assumes that all pregnancies result in a birth. Scenario 3 assumes that pregnancies either result in receiving out-of-state abortion care or result in a birth.

The total additional economic impact of restricted abortion access in Ohio likely ranges between $98.8 million and $118.4 million, but could be up to $551.4 million per year.

Regardless of the three scenarios analyzed, restrictions to accessing abortion care result in negative economic impacts for both individuals and the state. Several policy recommendations are proposed for consideration by policymakers and communities.