Abortion Rights

Many suburban Republicans say they are having a hard time bringing themselves to vote for their party’s nominee for governor, Doug Mastriano. Several voters and political operatives doing on-the-ground outreach say his stance on abortion is a big reason why.

One bill protects local providers from efforts by other states to investigate abortions. A second instructs police to deprioritize enforcing laws that could limit the procedure. A third bill allows citizens or groups to file complaints about misleading advertisements by pregnancy crisis centers.

Getting an abortion is often difficult as it can require travel, finding childcare and taking off work. That in combination with the strain out-of-state patients are placing on area abortion providers, means that access is even more restricted. Those that stand to lose the most access are Black patients and others from marginalized backgrounds.

On today’s special edition of The Confluence: Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, how are health care providers in Western Pennsylvania preparing for a potential increase in patients coming from other states; a legal scholar explains which rights to privacy could soon be at risk; a member of the state’s Pro-Life Federation talks about what the decision means for the anti-abortion movement in Pennsylvania; and a public opinion researcher discusses how the ruling might influence the outcome of the November election. Today’s guests include: Sydney Etheredge, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania; Greer Donley, assistant professor of law at the University Pittsburgh Law School; Bonnie Finnerty, education director with the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation; and Christopher Borick, professor of political science at Muhlenberg College.

Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, one of the last anti-abortion rights Democrats on Capitol Hill, says he would support a bill to write the rights into federal law.

The rally on Saturday at Freedom Corner in the Hill District pushed the issue far beyond the boundaries of abortion to encompass larger issues of sexual and reproductive justice, as well as fair wages and free health care.

GOP gubernatorial candidates strongly support keeping or expanding Pennsylvania abortion restrictions, while House and Senate leadership isn’t ruling out bills to do that.

The Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists calls abortion pill reversal “unethical” and “not based on science.”

Opponents of abortion rights insist their work won't end even if the Supreme Court decides to dismantle the Roe v. Wade decision establishing the constitutional right to an abortion.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, a staunch abortion-rights proponent, is more than halfway through his second term. In the Republican field to replace him, nearly all the major candidates say they’d support following Texas’s lead when it comes to abortion legislation.