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The main legislation is HB 1957, which aims to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution, making abortion a state constitutional right. HB 1957 would have to be approved by voters on a statewide ballot, and the committee hearing is the first step in that long process to amend the state constitution. First it must be approved in committee, then it moves to the House. The Pennsylvania House has a slight Democrat majority over Republicans, 102-101, so there is a good chance the constitutional amendment (and the entire six-bill package) will be approved by the committee and could pass the House.
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“They have no restriction on abortion in the language,” Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation Legislative Director Maria Gallagher told The Federalist, speaking of measures. “These bills are incredibly bad for women and babies in Pennsylvania; they would do everything from establish taxpayer funding of abortion to establishing late term abortions, to taking away the 24-hour waiting period for abortion, to taking away the counseling requirements for abortion. And what that would mean, is that women would not be told the risks of abortion or alternatives to abortion before an abortion takes place. This is really turning back the clock on protections for pregnant women and their babies.”
The bills would return Pennsylvania to the Kermit Gosnell era, providing legal protections for abortionists and late-term abortions without restrictions. Gosnell was an abortionist who killed babies after they were born in his filthy Philadelphia abortion mill.
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In addition to the constitutional amendment, the committee will consider the following bills:
HB 670, a state version of the FACE Act that also allows abortionists or facility owners to sue violators for damages. It calls for a year of prison and a $3,000 fine for interfering with the termination of an unborn baby. It would prevent pro-life sidewalk counselors from talking with people driving into the parking lot of an abortion mill, or making entrance to the mill “impassable, unreasonably difficult or hazardous.”
Notably, the bill restricting pro-life activities is seven pages long; the constitutional amendment bill allowing unrestricted abortion is two pages, pointing to the ironic reality that there will be more restrictions for pro-lifers than abortionists.
HB 1640 prevents records related to abortion from being disclosed in civil and criminal actions or investigations within Pennsylvania.
HB 1641 bans medical liability insurers from refusing to renew a contract or increasing rates on the basis that the doctor or facility performs abortions.
HB 1643 limits the ability of other states to prosecute Pennsylvania residents or abortionists for abortion-related actions. It instructs Pennsylvania courts not to cooperate with out-of-state investigations or take adverse actions against abortionists who handle out-of-state mothers and babies.
HB 2005 removes the mandatory 24-hour waiting period and counseling requirements for abortions in Pennsylvania. It eliminates the requirement for abortionists to provide specific information about abortion risks, alternatives, and fetal development.
Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation hopes Pennsylvania constituents will contact their lawmakers on the Judiciary Committee and tell them to vote no on all measures, and if possible, attend the hearing at the capitol building in Harrisburg on Wednesday in person.