Proposed Pa. Constitution amendment to limit abortion access has rights advocates concerned

A proposed amendment to Pennsylvania's constitution that would prevent the courts from making any unilateral decisions on abortion rights and limit access to the procedure, passed in the Senate's Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday.

Gov. Tom Wolf has made clear he would veto any legislation impacting abortion rights passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, in this instance he would have no say due to to the legislators pursuing this change via a change to the state constitution. The bill still has to pass two separate votes in the House and Senate and then would be added as a ballot question and ultimately decided by voters.

The proposal comes abortion rights advocates are concerned the U.S. Supreme Court could undo Roe v. Wade. The landmark case provides much of the precedent behind the legalization of medical abortion in the country. If it is overruled, more than 20 states would be able to immediately ban abortion.

In Pennsylvania, Sen. Judy Ward and Rep. Donna Oberlander brought the joint resolution for the amendment to state constitution to the legislature. They cited the legal battle over abortion funding for those on a Medicaid insurance plans as the reasoning.

Read more: https://www.phillyvoice.com/pro-choice-abortion-pennsylvania-constitutional-amendment-state-senate/