HARRISBURG — On Thursday, Governor Tom Wolf communicated his thoughts on the impact of anti-abortion policies as the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on the Mississippi abortion case.
“Abortion is health care and it must remain safe and legal,” Gov. Wolf said. “Republican politicians have spent decades trying to dismantle the right to abortion and reproductive health care by passing restrictive abortion bans, including here in Pennsylvania. The Supreme Court ruling this spring could put necessary reproductive health care, including abortions, in jeopardy and we all need to sound the alarm.”
Since 2016, there have been six different anti-choice bills introduced by members of Pennsylvania’s General Assembly. Gov. Wolf has vetoed three of them and vowed to veto the rest.
The Turnaway Study from the University of California San Francisco showed that a women or pregnant person is denied an abortion, they are more likely to have serious health complications, both at the end of the pregnancy and over a period of years following the pregnancy. Additionally, when a family that already has children is denied an abortion, those children are more likely to grow up below the federal poverty level.
“This is about our future, and I stand for a future where politicians can’t force birthing people to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term,” said Gov. Wolf.
Other politicians spoke out their thoughts alongside Gov. Wolf at People’s Park in Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro: “Extreme politicians have continued a sustained assault on reproductive health care and the right to choose. I will always stand up to protect that right and will defend Pennsylvanians from these cruel and unconstitutional restrictions.”
Pennsylvania State Senator (D-1) Nikil Saval: “Every person deserves freedom to make the decisions right for their lives, their families, and their futures. The vast majority of Americans support this freedom, and legislators and elected officials need to protect it. A handful of Supreme Court justices shouldn’t have the power to strip it away. This is gender justice. This is racial justice. And this is economic justice.”
Pennsylvania State Representative Mary Isaacson (D-175): “Abortion is health care and access to abortion is a constitutional right. I am thankful for Governor Wolf recognizing that time and time again when he has vetoed legislation that would force women in Pennsylvania to endure nine months of pregnancy and labor against their will. The threat to abortion access is not just in Mississippi and it is not just in Pennsylvania – it is nationwide as conservatives and supposed pro-lifers try to overturn Roe v. Wade – an act that is irreconcilable with human rights laws across the globe.”
A final decision from the Supreme Court on the Mississippi abortion case is not expected until sometime in 2022.
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