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Pennsylvania State Senate
07/28/2024 02:02 PM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?SPick=20230&chamber=S&cosponId=42775
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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: May 30, 2024 05:01 PM
From: Senator Amanda M. Cappelletti and Sen. Judith L. Schwank
To: All Senate members
Subject: The Reproductive Freedom Act
 
Abortion rights are under attack. Following the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs decision, abortion is now illegal in many states, and while abortion remains legal and safe here in Pennsylvania, it is by no means easily accessible. In fact, a law called “The Abortion Control Act” regulates and restricts access to abortion in Pennsylvania. It imposes a 24-hour waiting period, parental notification, restrictions on who may perform abortions and under what conditions. This creates an unfairly burdensome and discriminatory legal framework.

The current Act makes abortion expensive, inconvenient, and stigmatized, and by purposefully failing to prevent discrimination against abortion providers, long before Dobbs was decided. Though Pennsylvania has been touted as a haven for abortion care, we have less than twenty operational clinics in a state of nearly 13 million people.  

It is well past time we fixed Pennsylvania’s contribution to the national landscape of abortion rights and access, and for that reason we will be introducing a companion bill to Rep. Kristine Howard’s House Bill 2304, The Reproductive Freedom Act. This legislation repeals the Abortion Control Act and replaces it with a new legal framework, The Reproductive Freedom Act, aimed at treating abortion as health care, with an emphasis on protecting patients’ independence and privacy. 

With a 6-3 anti-choice majority on the United States Supreme Court, we cannot afford to pretend that the status quo of abortion rights is acceptable, or that the current law in Pennsylvania is sufficient. Pennsylvania really is the keystone, and we must ensure our rights are robust and wide-ranging. Please join us in taking this step towards ensuring a more secure and accessible future for reproductive rights, and guaranteeing that all Pennsylvanians, and those who seek care in Pennsylvania, will have the freedom to choose.