On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that guaranteed women and birthing people the constitutional right to an abortion.
At Tandem, Partners in Early Learning, our mission is to co-create high-quality early learning experiences in partnership with families and educators. We work at the intersection of social justice and early childhood education, striving to address systemic barriers and improve access to the types of experiences that set children up for success in kindergarten and beyond.
From evidence-based research and our own work, we know that children’s development, especially in the early years, is intertwined in the experiences and outcomes of their mothers. And therefore, we believe that the Supreme Court’s decision deals a devastating blow not only to Americans who are pregnant or might become pregnant, but also to children, families, and communities.
When women and birthing people have the agency to make decisions about their bodies, it can change the trajectory of their lives. Access to abortion increases rates of high school graduation, college attendance, degree completion, and participation in the workforce—and these gains are greater in Black and African-American communities.
The benefits of reproductive freedom also extend to families. Access to abortion increases planned births, improving educational and economic outcomes for children, both during early childhood and later in life. Children born to parents with abortion access experience lower rates of poverty, and as adults, they are less likely to need public assistance and more likely to graduate college. Conversely, denying the right to abortion can result in negative developmental and socio-economic consequences for families and their existing children in the home.
Importantly, the constitutional right to abortion is a right to choose: to not have children or to have children and raise them under safe, healthy conditions. Along with reinstating abortion access, our country must also enact policies that offer family making as a viable option, especially to communities that have been historically oppressed and denied opportunities to thrive. This means ensuring that we have the infrastructure in place to support families: paid family leave; access to infant formula, diapers, and skilled childcare; nutritious food and stable housing; schools that are welcoming, safe spaces; and an abundance of high-quality educational experiences from cradle to college.
For decades, polls have shown us that a majority of Americans want abortion to be legal in all or most cases. Ultimately, whether there is a right to abortion or not will depend on all of us. At Tandem, we remain committed to advocating for just policies that will advance equity and lift up the rights of women and birthing people. Reproductive justice is critical for the well-being of our communities, now and in the future. Anything less is an assault on civil liberty.
