Pa. activists, officials decry Texas ban
Supreme Court begins hearing arguments in case
Lucy Steiner stood just off the sidewalk Monday morning outside Planned Parenthood in Allentown, listening to officials decrying a recent Texas law that severely limits abortion access and warning residents that Pennsylvania legislators are pushing similar restrictions.
“It’s not a world away — I think everybody’s daughter and granddaughter is at risk,” said Steiner, of Easton. “We don’t define our public laws by what we personally believe.”
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday began hearing arguments that will help the justices decide whether the Texas law, the most restrictive abortion law in the nation, should be blocked while legal challenges continue.
In response, local and state officials gathered at Planned Parenthood Keystone Allentown Health Center, in the first block of North Ninth Street, to condemn the law known as Senate Bill 8 as unconstitutional.
“I am here today to state loudly and very clearly that abortion is health care,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. “It is under attack here in Pennsylvania and indeed, across our country. And after years of chipping away, extreme politicians in this country are closer than ever to eliminate the right to get a safe and legal abortion here in this country.”
The Texas law bans abortions at the point of the “first detectable heartbeat,” which could happen around six weeks into pregnancy, before some women know they’re pregnant — although that timeframe isn’t specified in the measure, according to an Associated Press report. Medical experts say the heart doesn’t begin to form until the fetus is at least 9 weeks old, and they denounce efforts to promote abortion bans by relying on medical inaccuracies.
Those in favor of the Texas law have rallied behind the Supreme Court’s previous refusal to block the law, arguing that abortion is murder.
“We look forward to the day when the most vulnerable among us, preborn children and their mothers, are protected from the devastation caused by abortion in Pennsylvania and throughout the United States,” said Maria Gallagher, legislative director of
the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, an affiliate of National Right to Life.
Gallagher said the federation is looking ahead to December, when the Supreme Court is slated hear arguments in a case from Mississippi that tests whether all state laws that ban pre-viability abortions are unconstitutional.
“The High Court could finally overturn Roe v. Wade, a decision which has resulted in the deaths of more than 62 million preborn babies and the suffering of countless numbers of women,” she said.
What makes the Texas law, which went into effect Sept. 1, different from others aimed at quelling abortions and restricting access is that it’s set up to be enforced by private citizens through lawsuits, not the government. The Supreme Court decision to not block the measure before it went into effect was based on that part of the legislation.
Anyone who aids and abets an abortion in violation of this law could be sued. If the lawsuit succeeds, those suing could get $10,000. There is no financial recourse for a defendant who prevails in such a lawsuit.
“It deputizes citizens to sue anyone who helps a patient seek care,” said Melissa Reed, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Keystone.
Patients are scared and confused, she said, noting that Planned Parenthood health centers have been flooded with calls from people trying to figure out what they can do and where they can turn to for health care.
“The truth is that it is past time for the Supreme Court to act,” Reed said. “SB8 is a heinous and blatantly unconstitutional abortion ban that never should have been allowed to take effect and it’s devastating that it remains in place.”
Shapiro, who has announced his run as a Democratic candidate for governor, said it is one of the most dangerous and extreme bans in the country. He called the law unconstitutional and urged the Supreme Court to block it.
“Let me be very clear, this will not end in Texas,” he said. “Other states are already filing copycat bills, including right here in Pennsylvania.”
There are several bills under consideration in the Legislature, including a six-week abortion ban similar to the one in Texas.
In Pennsylvania, existing law allows abortion up to 24 weeks into a pregnancy. Gov. Tom Wolf has vowed to veto any legislation that comes to his desk restricting access to abortion.
After many of the officials left, Steiner said the Texas abortion ban is upsetting, adding that she came out to hear what officials said and to support continued abortion access.
“It’s really sad,” she said. “There shouldn’t be anyone deciding this but the woman.”