Intro/Notes this week

A couple of weeks ago, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a law from Civil War times that basically bans abortions with very few exceptions.

The issue of abortion is a political football. It gets tossed around, and all of a sudden, we see increased air time for congressional talking heads, and renewed efforts to mobilize voters.

Oh, and more contributions from regular donors.

Facts don’t come into the argument anymore, so we thought we’d provide a few to inform everyone on this thread.

We decided to answer 4 simple questions about the economics/stats behind abortions.

Let’s get into it…

1. Is there an epidemic of abortions I don’t know about?

• Straight answer: No.
  Abortion has been on a steady decline since the 80’s.

• The overturning of Roe and the near-total ban upheld in Arizona is a solution without a problem.

2. Alright, well who gets abortions?

We’re going to cherry pick a few data points, but you can read the whole thing here.

• 60% of Women are already mothers

• 49% live below the poverty line

• 79% are within the first 9 weeks of their pregnancy

3. How much does it cost?

Short answer: it depends on the trimester, what state you live in, and if it’s pills or in-clinic.

Here are some rough numbers:

• Pills: $500-800

• Procedures: $600-$2000

4. Does a ban on abortion exacerbate these costs?

Obvious answer: Yes, and here are 2 important reasons to consider -

Logistics: Traveling across the state/another state requires gas money, airfare, etc. While added expense is a burden for anybody, this is especially the case for the 49% of women who are financially stretched.

Quality of care/procedure: Whenever things get ‘banned’, there’s always a cottage industry that gets propped up for access in harder world. For procedures, one could be seeing someone who may not have the proper credentials, etc. Basically, it could make it less safer to have an abortion under these conditions.

None of this is medical advice.

What AI Made This Week

Sick Fits by Ahmed

These guys… Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne. They run Public School, a fashion brand that in the early 2000’s, was doing all the stuff you see now.

They are highly rated, yet incredibly underrated designers.

Have a great week!

Ahmed and Peter