Chelsea Clinton claimed that Roe v. Wade helped add $3.5 trillion to the economy. It's taken away far more.

Chelsea Clinton claimed that legalizing abortion has helped add an additional $3.5 trillion to the American economy on Saturday. At a #RiseUpforRoe event in New York, Clinton and other pro-choice women rallied against Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court.

The #RiseUpforRoe movement, which is sponsored by NARAL and Planned Parenthood’s PAC, started promptly after President Trump announced his decision to nominate Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Their Twitter bio reads, “It’s time to get maximum hysterical,” and they claim that “The right to a safe, accessible and legal abortion has never been at greater risk since Roe was decided.”

Although abortion will not become illegal if Roe v. Wade is overturned, #RiseUpforRoe has been touring throughout America, fighting back and “going maximum hysterical.” At the New York leg of the tour, Clinton told the audience that citing the economic benefit of abortion could help persuade pro-lifers to rethink their stance. She said:

Whether you fundamentally care about reproductive rights and access rights, because these are not the same thing, if you care about social justice or economic justice, agency – you have to care about this. It is not a disconnected fact – to address this t-shirt of 1973 – that American women entering the labor force from 1973 to 2009 added three and a half trillion dollars to our economy. Right? The net, new entrance of women – that is not disconnected from the fact that Roe became the law of the land in January of 1973… So, I think, whatever it is that people say they care about, I think that you can connect to this issue.

Her logic is clear. Because women could get abortions, they could work for money more. Their contributions added $3.5 trillion into the economy. We may disagree on whether abortion kills an innocent life in its most vulnerable state, but at least it makes money!

It’s an awful ledger. Kill 60 million babies; create $3.5 trillion. For those doing the math, a baby’s life is worth a little under $60,000 each. Planned Parenthood’s abortion price tag must be a a steal, then, at only about $500!

Clinton’s argument showcases how little the pro-choice movement values life. Ultimately, the debate about abortion should center on the sanctity of human life; however, if Clinton wants to talk money, she should realize how much more is lost when death is the law of the land.

Remember, more than 60 million babies have been aborted in America since 1973. That’s about the size of both the populations of California and Texas, the two largest states in the union, combined. It’s hard to overstate how much of a profound effect abortion-on-demand has had on the nation.

Consumer Spending

Consumer spending drives the economy. When a mom buys groceries, she not only feeds her family but also supports the careers of everyone who works at the grocery store. The Department of Labor’s 2016 report on consumer expenditures found that the average American adult spends just under $60,000 a year.

Does that number sound familiar? It’s roughly the same as the price per child for the $3.5 trillion generated in the last forty years. Assuming that the 60 million babies murdered would have started spending this way at 18 and live to the average age of 78, they would have spent more than $200 trillion in their lifetimes. That’s money supporting businesses, driving industry, and creating jobs.

That number dwarfs the $3.5 trillion Clinton flexed. If every baby could have just lived a year as an adult, choosing life would outperform choosing death monetarily. Over 60 million lifetimes, it absolutely demolishes it.

Tax Revenue

As a Democrat, Clinton would rarely pass up the opportunity to raise or create taxes. However, fewer people means fewer taxpayers. By drastically slashing the population size, abortion slashes the amount of tax revenue that federal, state, and local governments receive.

The average American spends roughly $10,000 in taxes every year. Stretched over 60 million tax-paying lifetimes, this too would result in trillions of lost funds for the government. There are no government programs that aren’t vying for more funds, but no government program is hurting more than Social Security. The program is expected to become insolvent by 2034, in 16 short years.

Our aging population and declining fertility are partly to blame for that insolvency. Fertility rates dropped 5 percent as a result of Roe. In 2008, 3.2 workers paid for every one Social Security beneficiary. In 2030, there will only be 2.2 workers for every one Social Security beneficiary.

Although abortion is not the sole reason for this drop, it plays a prominent role. America has killed off a large part of the workforce paying our bills.

Potential Innovation

We can speculate using past surveys and statistics to estimate the money lost; however, it’s very difficult to put a price tag on the lost innovation that has come with the many lives lost because of abortion. Potential for growth and innovation exists in every person, and multiplying the lost potential by 60 million is therefore both breath-taking and heart-breaking.

The 60 million people would have practiced trades, law, or professional baseball. They could have developed new medicines, sonatas, and computer programs. They would have started businesses, communities, and families. They wouldn’t have just spent capital; they would have created it.

Every institution we have aches with the holes of people we’ve never known. Our cities and churches and companies lack people who never got to see the light of day. We can’t even fathom what our neighborhoods would gain from these lost souls, let alone our entire economy.

Clinton’s argument that abortion has provided net gains for our economy is hollow. The $3.5 trillion may seem substantial, but it pales in comparison to the vibrant economy that life would have created. Even when we diminish the 60 million lives lost to dollar signs, abortion offers no dividends.

No ruling that supports a culture of death and diminishment can result in creation and growth, only haunting choruses of what could have been. We can listen to voices like Clinton’s, telling us that we have somehow gained something, anything at the expense of the weakest of us, or we can listen to the words unspoken, the songs unsung, and the stories untold.

And if all of those cannot convince our hearts, we can at least point to the checks never cashed.