Abortion Access in Arizona: Economic Implications of Current, Restrictive Abortion Policies

Abortion policy is one of the most widely discussed issues on the campaign trail but there has been little attention to the economic implications of these policies for the state. A new analysis from Arizona’s Grand Canyon Institute, a non-partisan think tank, finds substantial and far-ranging consequences of the current, restrictive abortion policies for Arizonans including: economic costs from a loss of labor force participation among women of child-bearing age, wide-ranging impacts on the health care workforce and quality of care available, potential implications for Arizona’s higher education and business communities, as well as financial burdens for individuals and families which fall disproportionately on those with lower incomes.

As of September 2024, Arizona’s abortion policies are considered very restrictive, according to the Guttmacher Institute’s classification of state laws and regulations. Proposition 139 is an initiative backed by an Arizona coalition who are attempting to establish a fundamental right to abortion in Arizona’s constitution.

Grand Canyon Institute’s review of available evidence finds substantial and far-ranging consequences of the current, restrictive abortion policies for Arizonans:

• Arizona stands to lose $3.4 billion dollars under the current, restrictive abortion policies, due to an estimated 1% loss in labor force participation among women ages 15 to 44, according to a new analysis by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. (Figures are based on 2022 dollars.)

 

• There are 1.38 million Arizonan women ages 15 to 44 who are directly affected by reproductive health policies and many more who are indirectly affected.[i] The loss of wages from restrictive abortion policies for individuals and families in Arizona comes to an average loss of $9,564 in annual wages. (Figures are based on 2022 dollars.)

 

• The median cost for abortion services in Arizona ranged from $540 to $1,568, as of 2021, depending on the type of procedure and time of gestation. The financial costs to individuals and families from restricted access to abortion are felt disproportionately by those with lower incomes. These effects compound over time. Women seeking an abortion nationwide report two primary barriers: geographic availability of abortion services and the financial burdens of such services.

 

• There are signs of strain for the medical care workforce in Arizona. The Association of American Medical Colleges reported an 18.3% decrease in applications for medical residencies in the state, compared with a drop of just 0.4% nationwide in 2023-2024. In obstetrics-gynecology (OB-GYN), residency program directors across the nation reported frequent and specific questions from applicants about the quality of abortion training offered and concern about going to residency programs in states with more restrictive policies, according to interviews by a U.S. House of Representatives committee.

 

• A new analysis ranks Arizona 44th in state health system performance for women’s health and reproductive care, in the bottom tier of the nation, according to the Commonwealth Fund. Among the indicators for which Arizona underperforms relative to other states are maternal mortality rates, health insurance coverage, and per capita access to abortion clinics.

 

• Women who become pregnant before age 24 who have access to abortion are more likely to enter college (42% more likely) and to complete a college degree (72% more likely) compared to those without such access, according to a national analysis. A national survey finds about a fifth of current and prospective college students pursuing certificate, associate and bachelor degrees (21%), say that state reproductive health care policies are extremely important to them when deciding where to enroll. In all, 71% of current and prospective students say this is at least somewhat important to them.

[i] U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 American Community Survey, 5-year estimates by age and sex for Arizona. https://data.census.gov/profile/Arizona?g=040XX00US04#populations-and-people

 

About

The Grand Canyon Institute (GCI) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to informing and improving public policy in Arizona through evidence-based, independent, objective, nonpartisan research. GCI makes a good faith effort to ensure that findings are reliable, accurate, and based on reputable sources. While publications reflect the view of the Institute, they may not reflect the view of individual members of the Board.

 

Cary Funk, Ph.D., is a senior research fellow at the Grand Canyon Institute. She is a social scientist with a focus on social, political and policy issues. She holds a Ph.D. in social psychology; her past roles include faculty positions in political science and public policy.

Media inquiries: Cary Funk  Email: cfunk@azgci.org or Phone: (480) 788 4370

 

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