Ross Douthat will admit that a woman who is denied an abortion may suffer economic hardship in both the short and long term as a result. However, he thinks society as a whole is better off, for two reasons. First, we need the additional population to finance our welfare state; and second, the loss of abortion rights is somehow supposed to result in more responsible sexual behavior and more stable relationships. Is he right?
Increased immigration is the obvious answer to the first question, and I don’t really think men spend a lot of time thinking about the availability of abortion when they go out in pursuit of sex, but we’ll put those aside for the moment. The real question is, will women who want abortions agree to put their self-interest aside and take one for the team for the betterment of society as a whole? Of course not! They didn’t in the past when abortion was illegal, and they won’t now.