Reproductive healthcare is often framed as a social, moral, or personal issue. It doesn’t come up a lot in conversations about economic prosperity. But the reality is that reproductive care is actually very closely connected to the economy. It can shape people’s financial stability, their education and career opportunities, and the future of their families. For women in particular, safe and affordable access to reproductive care can have a major impact on whether they’re able to work, stay in school, and make decisions about their futures. In this episode, we explain why reproductive healthcare is an economic issue, and why a reproductive justice framework is crucial to how we think about the economy.

GATE’s Busted podcast is made possible by generous support from BMO.

Featured guests:

Dr. Diana Greene Foster, Demographer and Professor, OB-GYN Department, University of California, San Francisco

Dr. Yana Rodgers, Professor and Chair, Labour Studies and Employment Relations, Rutgers University

Resources:

Elakbawy, S. and Rawdon, B. (2026). Costs and Consequences: Impacts of Abortion Restrictions Four Years Post-Dobbs. Institute for Women's Policy Research. https://iwpr.org/articles/costs-and-consequences-impacts-of-abortion-restrictions-four-years-post-dobbs/

Foster, D.G. (2020). The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having―or Being Denied―

an Abortion. Scribner.

McGrew, A. and van der Meulen Rodgers, Y. (2025). Who Benefits? Employer Subsidization of Reproductive Healthcare and Implications for Reproductive Justice. Feminist Economics 31 (1), 53-78. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2025.2458271

Miller, S., Wherry, L.R., and Foster, D.G. (2023). The Economic Consequences of Being Denied an Abortion. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 15(1), 394-437. https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/pol.20210159

Ross, L.J. and Solinger, R. (2017). Reproductive Justice: An Introduction. University of California Press. 

Produced by: Carmina Ravanera and Dr. Sonia Kang 

Edited by: Ian Gormely