In making the case that the states have standing this time, the attorneys general contend access to mifepristone has lowered “birth rates for teenaged mothers,” arguing it contributes to causing a population loss for the states along with “diminishment of political representation and loss of federal funds.”
And even the financial argument is a joke.
Teenage pregnancies mean less education, which means lower salary, which means more public benefits and less taxes. So the state loses money.
Teenage pregnancies mean more poorer moms and children, which means greater state expenses on health care, child care, and housing. More teen pregnancies means more unhealthy teen pregnancies, which means more ER costs from people with no money to pay for them.
And we could run the numbers, but the point is that we don’t need to. They needed to, and they didn’t, because the whole calculation is filled with unjustifiable assumptions about the importance of counting some things while ignoring others.
The idea of not raising minimum wage and keeping wage slaves and corporate welfare is what they’re arguing. It’s not that it costs taxpayers more, it’s that it costs rich people and corporations less.