Bill to restrict abortion after Down syndrome diagnosis passes Pennsylvania House
Candy WoodallPennsylvania House Republicans on Tuesday passed a bill to restrict abortion rights, setting up an ideological fight with Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Tom Wolf.
House Bill 1500 passed 120-83 to outlaw abortion after a pregnant mother receives a Down syndrome diagnosis.
Federal courts have previously blocked this type of legislation in other states, but former President Donald Trump's judicial picks have allowed similar measures to advance in neighboring Ohio and other states.
Wolf has repeatedly vowed to veto any anti-choice legislation.
"It's despicable that Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania are actively working to criminalize health care decisions," Wolf said. "Abortion is health care. It's not a politician's place to decide what a woman can and cannot do with her body."
House Minority Leader Joanna McClinton put it this way:
"The funny thing is...when I go to my doctor's office, there's only a seat for me and maybe one other guest — not 203 guests," she said, referring to the size of the Legislature.
McClinton said the Legislature, by focusing on anti-abortion bills, is far off from where it needs to be to help the state recover from the pandemic.
Republicans say the bills are necessary to save lives.
"We need to protect these children inside and outside the womb," said Rep. Kate Klunk, R-York County.
Rep. Paul Schemel, R-Franklin County, said House Bill 1500 "provides continuity with the (American Disabilities Act)."
"We don't treat the disabled differently because they are disabled," he said. "That would be wrong."
But Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny County, called the legislation an intrusion into the exam room and doctor-patient relationship.
"Politicians have no right to bully their way into the exam room," he said.
Frankel said the legislation creates a legal bind, especially for victims of rape or incest who would have to prove their decision to have an abortion had nothing to do with a potential Down syndrome diagnosis.
The bills have also been met with opposition from the Pennsylvania Women's Health Caucus, The Women's Centers and the Women's Law Project.
The overarching message from the Women's Law Project is that criminalizing abortion doesn't stop abortion: "It kills women."
Pennsylvania conservatives have previously pushed anti-abortion legislation, but several bills have stalled in committee, including when the GOP-controlled Legislature had a Republican governor to sign their agenda into law.
Former Republican Gov. Tom Corbett in 2011 signed into law stricter standards for abortion clinics and in 2013 signed a law that denied abortion coverage through the Affordable Care Act.
But nothing as restrictive as what was passed the House health committee last month, including a fetal heartbeat bill and fetal remains bill, got close to law during the Corbett years.
Current Pennsylvania law allows abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy for any reason and potentially longer for victims of rape or incest, or to protect the health of the mother. However, abortions are not legal in the state to selectively choose the gender of the baby.
“Politics do not belong in a doctor’s office and there is absolutely no place for politicians to come between an individual and their doctor," Wolf said in a statement.
The House is also expected to pass a bill that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is around 6 weeks gestation and before many women know they are pregnant.
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Candy Woodall is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Pennsylvania Capital Bureau. She can be reached at 717-480-1783 or on Twitter at @candynotcandace.