What Are the Costs of Abortion on Society?

[Yekcidmij]

Thinking about infant mortality rates in the US, in 2015, the infant mortality rate in the US was 589.5 per 100,000 live births [1]. In 2015, the rate of abortions was 188 per 1,000 live births (or 18,800 per 100,000 live births). Including abortion, infant mortality rates are significantly higher, and on par with places like Angola, Somalia, and Afghanistan [3]. With a total of 638,169 abortions in 2015 and a population of 321 million, that gives an abortion death rate of 198 per 100,000 population. This puts abortion as the leading causes of death in 2015.

Considering this, I think it's helpful to consider what are the larger costs to society by considering the counterfactual. On it's face, an abortion is a subtraction from future population - an aborted baby is a person who will not be present in society in the future. This is a future person who will not be a productive, contributing member of society. Ceteris Paribus, this is a subtraction from future productive activity, future tax revenues, and future innovation. The costs of this will be hard to measure since we don't have observable access to the counterfactual world where these people would have been present, but several studies may be illustrative as to the costs.

One way of considering the economic costs to society would be to make comparisons with the costs of places with high infant mortality rates since the outcome of an abortion and infant death are the same. In 2013, the WHO conducted a study of 47 African countries and estimated the economic costs of high infant mortality as a % of GDP:

"The estimated total expected non-health GDP loss ascribed to child deaths of Int$ 150.3 billion is about 6 % of the combined 2013 GDP of the 47 African countries [37]. This estimate denotes the expected loss in potential GDP in the future from the 2 976 000 child deaths revalued relative to the base year 2013, i.e. present values." [4]​

A study out of the University of Huston estimated that declining infant mortality (so the opposite of higher infant mortality due to abortion) led to increased human capital investment

"Higher life expectancy implies a higher rate of return on human capital investment and hence, declining child and youth mortality provides an important incentive to increase investment in the education of each child. Researchers have emphasized the role of human capital investment as the prime engine for economic growth but they have not rigorously investigated this channel, where declining mortality promotes growth by raising human capital investment." [5]​

Typically, there is an inverse correlation between national income (GDP) and infant mortality rates [6][7]. This correlation is not only observable across countries, but can be observed within countries where lower incomes are correlated with higher infant mortality [8]. Likewise, this relationship is observable among abortions as well where the number of abortions are inversely correlated with income levels (lower income, more abortions) [9]. This seems to be suggestive, that lower abortion rates might be correlated with higher levels of economic output at all levels from the individual to the country level.

I think data shows a positive relationship between economic output and infant mortality and I think this relationship can probably be extended to include abortions as a subset of infant mortality. Abortions, like infant mortality, subtract from future economic output as an aborted baby is a person who will not be present in the future to contribute to economic activity. Abortions, like infant mortality, disproportionately occur among populations with lower economic output. This may also show that abortions are simply a functional substitute for infant mortality.

At least for the US, given where economic output is, think of how high it could have been had productive members of society not been absent? Think of where investment in human capital, health care, tax revenues could have been had those productive members of society been present.

Thoughts?

[1] Products - Data Briefs - Number 267 - December 2016
[2] Data &Statistics - Reproductive Health | CDC
[3] Infant Mortality Rates of Countries
[4] Counting the cost of child mortality in the World Health Organization African region
[5] https://www.demogr.mpg.de/Papers/workshops/001011_paper05.pdf
[6] Child & Infant Mortality
[7] https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82751406.pdf
[8] https://www.russellsage.org/sites/a..._Economic Inequality and Infant Mortality.pdf
[9] Abortion rates by income

 

[John P. Alexander]

I believe our Western societies have aborted many cures, inventions, and solutions. HIV/AIDS and cancer could have been cured; life saving medical equipment and advancements could have been discovered; climate change could have been solved. We will never know for sure.

Satan is so upset by Jesus having been born that he has convinced the world that killing babies in the womb is an acceptable thing to do.

 

[Jonathan Walkerin]

Abortions, like infant mortality, disproportionately occur among populations with lower economic output. This may also show that abortions are simply a functional substitute for infant mortality.

Indeed. One often wonders how the people with happier economic outcomes are so adamant about banning the abortion but could care less about lifting the poorer populace out of their misery so they would not feel the need to abort their babies they can not take care of.

Always easy to take the moral high road when your paycheck comes regularly I guess , instead of wondering if you are going to have something to eat this evening or has someone else gotten the nearby restaurants biowaste first.

 

[Yekcidmij]

One often wonders how the people with happier economic outcomes are so adamant about banning the abortion but could care less about lifting the poorer populace out of their misery so they would not feel the need to abort their babies they can not take care of.

I don't disagree with the sentiment in that statement. I would question the actual relationship between economic outcomes with infant mortality and abortions. I'm not sure that economic outcomes are causal to the latter in the way you may be suggesting and suspect you would be unable to demonstrate . Yet in any case, for whatever number of cases where economic outcomes are causal, however many of few that may be, I would agree that it would be worth considering and implementing ways to improve economic outcomes.

Always easy to take the moral high road when your paycheck comes regularly I guess , instead of wondering if you are going to have something to eat this evening or has someone else gotten the nearby restaurants biowaste first.

Not sure who you're talking about when you say "you" or if you're just making a general statement about the world.

 

[Jonathan Walkerin]

I don't disagree with the sentiment in that statement.

Excellent. Rest of the answer was like listening to Sir Humprey from the series Yes Mr Prime Minister although without the funny part so whatever.

Not sure who you're talking about when you say "you" or if you're just making a general statement about the world.

I am sure you are properly worried about the poor and needy so lets make it a general statement.

 

[SPF]

What Are the Costs of Abortion on Society?

I would say that since abortion is in reality a moral issue, the costs to society are incalculable.

 

[Yekcidmij]

Rest of the answer was like listening to Sir Humprey from the series Yes Mr Prime Minister although without the funny part so whatever.

Only because you know you're incapable of demonstrating what's required for your claim.

I am sure you are properly worried about the poor and needy .

Thanks for recognizing that.

 

[Jonathan Walkerin]

Thanks for recognizing that.

Heh, funny you felt that claim needed no demonstrating although I have zero evidence whatever you care about the poor or not.

There actually was a research done that showed how our pleasure centers in the brain got activated
when someone repeated our own opinions back to us whatever that opinion might have been.

Something to keep in mind when anyone feels all warm and cuddly of other people recognizing what a wonderfull creature they are.

 

[Yekcidmij]

Heh, funny you felt that claim needed no demonstrating although I have zero evidence whatever you care about the poor or not.

Well, I'm not giving random person on the internet my financial statements. It's weird and a little creepy that you would suggest that you needed something like that too.

There actually was a research done that showed how our pleasure centers in the brain got activated when someone repeated our own opinions back to us whatever that opinion might have been.

You do realize I was simply responding to your trolling. Right? What does research show about people who initiate trolling?

Psychologists have identified the kind of emotional intelligence that makes internet trolls so mean

 

[Jonathan Walkerin]

Well, I'm not giving random person on the internet my financial statements. It's weird and a little creepy that you would suggest that you needed something like that too.

Rest assured nobody here needs or cares about your financial statements.

 

[Yekcidmij]

Rest assured nobody here needs or cares about your financial statements.

Then don't imply that you need me to provide them to you. It's weird and creepy.