The Pennsylvania Constitution contains no right to an abortion or to taxpayer funded abortions, but the abortion industry is asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to find (invent) one in a case they filed, Allegheny Reproductive Health Center v. Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
The case, brought by a consortium of abortion clinics (including Planned Parenthood) argues that the court should declare a right to abortion and taxpayer-funded abortions in the Pennsylvania Constitution.
A win for the abortion industry in this case would not only force taxpayers to fund abortion, but a court-imposed state-constitutional “right to abortion” could lead to all of Pennsylvania’s current pro-life laws being struck down, and could result in legalizing abortion right up until birth, paid for with taxpayer dollars. Any future pro-life laws enacted to protect women’s health and preborn babies lives would likely be struck down under such a ruling. Current pro-life regulations in the Abortion Control Act, such as the 24-hour waiting period requirements, informed consent, and 24 week abortion limit would be in jeopardy of being repealed and ruled unconstitutional. The same is true with abortion clinic regulations put into place to protect women, passed into our law after the Kermit Gosnell “House of Horrors” scandal.
In the first Pa Supreme Court decision, three PA Supreme Court Justices (Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht) overruled long-standing precedent that prohibited taxpayer funding of elective abortions. Two Justices (Justice Christine Donohue and David Wecht) went so far as to indicate they would like to find a right to abortion in the state constitution. Two Justices dissented (Justice Sally Mundy and Debra Todd), with Justice Mundy stating in the dissenting opinion – “[T]he majority overrules unanimous precedent on this politically sensitive topic, which is best resolved by the political branches.” Justice Kevin Brobson abstained, and there was a vacancy on the court for the seventh seat at the time.
Governor Josh Shapiro refused to fulfill his responsibility to defend this law when he was Attorney General and actively fought against it as governor. Thankfully, our new Attorney General, Dave Sunday, stepped in to defend the law.
