Medical and social health benefits since abortion was made legal in the US

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This factsheet from Planned Parenthood demonstrates the many health benefits — physical, emotional, and social — that have resulted in the US since have 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in its decision, Roe v. Wade

In sum, no amount of controversy over abortion can negate the evidence that American women, men, children, and families have reaped great benefits to their physical, mental, and social health from the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic decision in Roe v. Wade. Any erosion of a woman’s right and access to medically safe, legal abortion jeopardizes the health of women, their families, and the nation as a whole.

Key points:

  • Roe v. Wade did not “invent” abortion
  • Deaths from abortion declined dramatically during the past three decades
  • Medically safe, legal abortion has had a profound impact on American women and their families.
  • The health and well-being of women and children suffer the most in states that have the most stringent laws that restrict access to safe and legal abortion.

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