Senator Tim Scott Shreds Treasury Secretary After She Insinuated Abortions Are Good For Economy

Senator Tim Scott Shreds Treasury Secretary After She Insinuated Abortions Are Good For Economy


Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott tore into Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen after she made “callous” about how abortions help the economy.

She was speaking to senators on Tuesday when she talked about the economic impact of ending Roe V. Wade.

“I believe that eliminating the right of women to make decisions about when and whether to have children would have very damaging effects on the economy, and would set women back decades,” she said responding to a question from Democrat New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez.

“Roe v. Wade and access to reproductive health care, including abortion, helped lead to increased labor force participation, it enabled many women to finish school, that increased their earning potential, it allowed women to plan and balance their families and careers, and research also shows that it had a favorable impact on the well-being and earnings of children,” she said.

“There are many research studies that have been done over the years looking at the economic impacts of access, or lack thereof, to abortion, and it makes clear that denying women access to abortion increases their odds of living in poverty or need for public assistance,” she said.

The comments infuriated Sen. Scott who found her remarks to be cold.

“Just for clarity’s sake, did you say that ending the life of a child is good for the labor force participation rate?” the bewildered senator said.

“As a guy who was raised by a single mom, who worked long hours to keep us out of poverty, I think people can disagree on the issue of being pro-life or pro-abortion, but in the end, I think framing it in the context of labor force participation, it just feels callous to me,” he said.

Yellen insisted that here comments were “not harsh,” but “the truth.”

“And one aspect of a satisfying life is being able to feel that you have the financial resources to raise a child, that the children you bring into the world are wanted, and that you have the ability to take care of them,” she said.

The senator went on Twitter, still infuriated at Yellen’s comments.

“The American Dream is one of hope and opportunity. We should be having conversations about economic policies that ensure everyone—including single moms and their kids—have access to that dream. Sec. Yellen’s comments today don’t meet that mark,” he said.

“If we want to talk about the economic stability of our country—let’s talk about lowering inflation and providing positive economic opportunities for single moms and low-income families like the one I grew up in,” he said.


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