Life Issues: abortion

SHOW THEM THE MONEY:

In Flint, Cash for Pregnant Women Leads to Better Outcomes for Babies (Roni Caryn Rabin, May 27, 2026, NY Times)

The new report offered one of the most optimistic recent assessments of cash transfer programs. Results from other similar programs across the country have been mixed. But the Flint initiative is one of several that target pregnancy and the first year of a baby’s life, when income often dips just as expenses increase. This critical period influences a child’s development and long-term health trajectory, said Dr. Hanna, who is also associate dean of public health at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.

The study evaluated the outcomes of some 4,500 births in Flint between 2021 and 2025, and compared them with those in similar, matched cities in Michigan. Before the program’s implementation, rates of premature birth and low birth weight had been increasing in Flint.

Researchers would have expected those rates “to increase even more, because the rates were rising year after year and rising in the matched cities, but instead, Flint’s rates went lower,” said Dr. Sumit Agarwal, a physician and economist at the University of Michigan and the paper’s first author. He and the study’s other authors concluded that the program effectively reduced Flint’s preterm birth rate by 2.7 percentage points and low birth weight rate by 4.2 percentage points.

Previous studies have found that Rx Kids was also associated with fewer evictions, better maternal health and a drop in welfare investigations of child maltreatment. The program has now expanded to 42 communities in Michigan.

HAUNTED:

Long-term emotional distress persists for women decades after abortion, studies suggest (Obianuju Mbah, 1/31/26, Christianity Today)

Nearly half of women experienced moderate to high levels of abortion emotional distress after an abortion. Around a quarter (24.1%) reported high levels of distress. These included persistent feelings of grief, sadness, intrusive thoughts, or emotional disruption affecting work and relationships.

The study estimates that that would translate to approximately 7.5 million women nationwide, with nearly half of that group (3.4 million) experiencing multiple symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress.

Notably, the research found no clear evidence that distress diminishes with time, suggesting that for some women emotional effects may remain unresolved long-term.

NO ONE MISSES ROE:

The Puzzle of Roe v. Wade (Mary Zeigler, June 14, 2024, Yale University Press)

This interest in Roe is even more puzzling given the scholarly criticism the decision has received. Almost from the start, commentators across the ideological spectrum have questioned the opinion’s reasoning, which did not draw on constitutional text, history, or other conventional sources of interpretation. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who would become the Supreme Court’s most vocal defender of abortion rights, often argued that Roe went too far too fast and undermined the prochoice movement’s earlier progress. Feminists like Catharine MacKinnon described it as paternalistic and unconvincing. Originalists, starting with Robert Bork, have found it little short of horrifying. It is surprising that we care so much about a decision that is criticized by so many.

The interest is a function of the fact that it was an exercise in power politics, not jurisprudence.