Re-Assessing the Pros and Cons of Paid Maternity Leave in the Wake of the Dobbs Decision

In 2022, the United States Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade and returned the question of abortion legality back to the states. Since then, 23 states have enacted full or partial bans on abortions. This necessitates a revisitation of the pros and cons of paid maternity leave. If women are going to be forced to carry pregnancies to term and delivery, they will require maternity leave from work. According to the numbers of abortions reported to the CDC each year, the 23 states with full or partial abortion bans averaged 250,000 abortions per year in the four years prior to the Dobbs decision for working-aged women. With abortion access no longer guaranteed, paid maternity leave will become even more important.