Ethics and Public Policy Center’s encouraging report on two years after Dobbs (and some discouraging thoughts too)

Patrick Brown’s new report for the Ethics and Public Policy Center is a must read. When Dobbs was passed, one common criticism was that pro-lifers only cared about “life in the womb,” but did nothing to support life outside the womb. Considering the horrific stats on maternity leave and other family support measures throughout the country, perhaps this criticism is apt (although not supporting families has been a long-standing bipartisan effort… ask me sometime about trying–and failing–to take maternity leave with my two younger kids, when I was a tenured prof at a state university). So, what difference have these two years post Dobbs made? A taste from Brown’s findings:

In the two years since Dobbs, every state that has laws on the books protecting life in the womb has passed laws that expand support for pregnant and new moms and their babies; some to the tune of tens of millions of dollars annually. “Two Years After Dobbs,” a new report from scholars in EPPC’s Life and Family Initiative, showcases many of these essential, life-saving steps that can make welcoming a new life less daunting.   

Every state, save one, has opted into expanding Medicaid coverage for postpartum women for up to a year after childbirth. Most states have taken steps to expand options for child care, or increased availability of health services for women. And a number of states have expanded eligibility for safety-net programs or provide direct aid to pregnant and new moms. 

This report focuses on the 21 states that currently have abortion restrictions that would have not been permitted under the Roe regime, plus Iowa and Ohio, which have both been the subject of much attention in the two years since Dobbs.

To read Brown’s report in full, go here (and there is an option to download it in PDF too). Lots of numbers, charts, and analysis here!

I particularly appreciated Brown’s discussion of the vital role that local pregnancy centers play in supporting women and families in crisis pregnancies. Poverty is strongly correlated with abortion, so providing support is a directly pro-life act. But, Brown notes, we cannot just rely on these pregnancy centers and church organizations to carry out all of this culture-changing labor! Rather, family-friendly policy is more vital than ever.

I have one more thought here–about what is missing from the discussion by default. This report is about the 21 states that now significantly restrict abortion. I am happy to hear that these states are taking steps to be fully pro-life and pro-family–even if (as Brown acknowledges) this is very much a work in progress–a starting point, and these states really cannot stop with what they are doing right now to support mothers and families. Besides, unfortunately, some of these states were starting from pretty much zero (e.g., Mississippi). But what about support for women who need it in the other 29 states? It seems that states that did not have a culture of supporting families before will not develop a new and robust culture of love for children and families now. It is, after all, their decision to choose. By contrast, the programs that the 21 states listed in the report have created cost something; they require each state to program its professed values into its budget. This is a good thing. We should be putting our money where our values are.

One of the most striking points that Erika Bachiochi makes in her book The Rights of Women: Reclaiming a Lost Vision is of the devastating abandonment of mothers and families that the culture of choice had created: without any support for her pregnancy and family, an expecting mother without adequate resources has nothing but the right to choose–and what a hollow “right” it is. People do not live in a vacuum. Our circumstances–and especially support networks and resources–make our choices for us.

Patrick Brown’s report shows that some states are realizing this and are working to support mothers and families through pregnancy and into the parenting years. They offer excellent models to replicate. But the discouraging takeaway in all of this to me is seeing the two-tiered system that is emerging in the process: there are now states that are trying to support families better and there are other states that are just leaving mothers and families alone with their “choice.” For instance, the map of “State Paid Family Leave Laws Across the U.S.” from just this January is rather grim.

Changing culture is not easy.