Two data points in the aftermath of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling paint a picture of that decision's impact on mental health. First: Early data shows that states that enacted abortion bans after Roe v.
Wade was overturned have seen higher rates of self-reported mental health concerns, particularly among the less wealthy. Second: Lawmakers in those states are increasingly loath to include mental health concerns or psychological conditions in the list of reasons to justify a legal, emergency abortion. According to research from Brad Greenwood, professor of information systems and operations management at the Costello College of Business at George Mason University, that was published in Science Advances in July, much of the psychological impact of the state bans has been linked to socioeconomic status , with the self-reported mental health status of less educated and less wealthy subjects "demonstrably worse" than the mean.
"If you get up to over six-figure income, there's no effect whatsoever," said Greenwood, adding that there are not "significant differences" based on sex assigned at birth, race, age, marital status and sexual orientation. His study speculates that some of that may be because wealthier subjects can more easily travel out of state to receive the procedure. The increase comes as lawmakers have made it increasingly clear that so-called "emergency exceptions" that permit legal abortions can include physical conditions, but not psychologi.
