The mostly Democrat Pennsylvania Judiciary Committee passed six abortion measures Tuesday, including five regular bills and one that is the first step in amending the state constitution to enshrine “reproductive rights” as a constitutional right in Pennsylvania.
The amendment would remove all current restrictions, such as limiting abortion after 24-weeks (six months), with an exception after that for “when the pregnancy poses a serious health risk or threatens the life” of the mother.
During a hearing before the voting meeting, State Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, a Republican, held up a model of an unborn baby at 26 weeks during a discussion about the amendment to remind members they were talking about a human life.
“Their feet are formed, their eyes — it’s a perfect human being,” Borowicz said. “We’ve got to regard life in America again, and we have to face what we’ve allowed in this nation for 50 plus years.”
At the start of the voting meeting, Democrat Committee Chairman Tim Briggs told the members there would be no props allowed in the meeting, so she had to hide the baby away.
The amendment means babies could be aborted days before their due date for any reason. Elizabeth Kirk, co-director of the Center for Law and the Human Person and assistant professor of law at the Columbus School of Law, testified that the constitutional amendment would be among the most extreme laws in the country and it would lift restrictions on more than abortion matters.
“This is an extreme protection,” Kirk testified. “And I want to reiterate that it’s not just about abortion, it’s about all services that would be related to reproduction. So, sterilization, gender transition surgeries, whatever you might imagine would be related to that. It’s not just about abortion, but yes, it’s the most extreme version of protection for those … activities.”
Now that the amendment, HB 1957, has passed out of committee, it must be approved in the House in two consecutive sessions, then the measure is placed on a statewide ballot for voters to decide if the state constitution should adopt the amendment. The Pennsylvania House Democrat majority over Republicans, 102-101, so there is a good chance this and the other five bills the committee approved will prevail in the House.
Over strenuous objections of the outnumbered Republicans, the committee quickly passed each of the following in a 14-12 vote along party lines.
HB 670, a state version of the FACE Act that also allows abortionists or facility owners to sue violators for damages. It calls for prison and a fine for interfering with the termination of an unborn baby. It would prevent pro-life sidewalk counselors from making entrance to an abortion mill “impassable, unreasonably difficult or hazardous.”
Borowicz asked if prayer makes entrance “unreasonably difficult.”
“Specifically this speaks to the rising threat that we’ve seen of folks calling in bomb threats—calling in into the lines of these clinics to obstruct so that folks seeking to use these services aren’t able to [call] because the lines are jammed up,” bill sponsor Lindsay Powell answered. After Borowicz pressed her to answer the question, Powell said people have a right to pray peacefully, but if they use their bodies to obstruct the space it would be a violation.
Briggs kept discussions short and quickly moved each bill to a vote.
HB 1640 prevents records related to abortion from being disclosed in civil and criminal actions or investigations in Pennsylvania. Republicans were concerned that while the bill does allow for disclosure when abuse is known or suspected for three categories of abuse: abuse of a child, senior citizen or an individual with physical or intellectual abilities. But it does not include suspected victims of human trafficking, coerced abortion, statutory sexual assault, abuse of individuals or adults who are not seniors. Democrats offered no answers and passed the bill.
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.
Minority chairman Rep. Rob Kauffman called the bill unconstitutional and dangerous for women seeking an abortion. He noted that before criminal abortionist Kermit Gosnell set up his “House of horrors” in Philadelphia, he operated in Camden, New Jersey.
“It just blows my mind that we would be the haven for bad actors in the abortion industry,” Kauffman said.
HB 2005 removes the Pennsylvania’s mandatory 24-hour waiting period and counseling requirements for abortions. It eliminates the requirement for abortionists to provide specific information about abortion risks, alternatives, and fetal development.
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