A six-bill package currently under review in the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee could expand abortion access dramatically in the state. The centerpiece, House Bill 1957, proposes amending the Pennsylvania Constitution to make abortion an explicit state-constitutional right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under current Pennsylvania law abortions are banned after 24 weeks of pregnancy\u2014except in cases where the pregnancy poses a serious health risk or threatens the mother\u2019s life. If the amendment passes, state protections would shift and potentially allow taxpayer funding for abortions and allow abortion up to birth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The package removes many of the remaining restrictions on abortion: it would repeal the 24-hour waiting period, eliminate mandated counseling before abortion, remove gestational limits, and prevent pro-life sidewalk counseling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The amendment must first pass the House, then the Senate in the next session, and finally be approved by voters on the statewide ballot. Governor Josh Shapiro, meanwhile, has expressed strong support for abortion rights and would benefit politically if the amendment passes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If enacted, Pennsylvania would become a destination for out-of-state abortions and would significantly shift state policy in favor of unrestricted abortion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A six-bill package currently under review in the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee could expand abortion access dramatically in the state. The centerpiece, House Bill 1957, proposes amending the Pennsylvania Constitution to make abortion an explicit state-constitutional right. Under current Pennsylvania law abortions are banned after 24 weeks of pregnancy\u2014except in cases where the pregnancy poses […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":267671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[804,805,808],"tags":[475,909,9863],"class_list":["post-267670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-foreground","category-life","tag-abortion","tag-pro-life-2","tag-right-to-life"],"yoast_head":"\n