Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Legislators have mixed views on SB3
Senate Bill 3 prohibits abortions after 20 weeks
On Tuesday, state representatives voted in the Pennsylvania House, mostly along party lines, to pass Senate Bill 3, legislation regarding abortion time limits that some call among the most extreme in the country and others say puts Pennsylvania in line with the standards of much of the rest of the world.
SB3 prohibits abortions after 20 weeks with no exceptions for rape, incest or fetal abnormalities, as well as a procedure called a dilation and evacuation. Opponents of the bill spoke to how it turns doctors who perform dilation and evacuation into criminals, does not include the exceptions and has not had a public hearing. Supporters of the bill say that dilation and evacuation, which is referred to as “dismemberment abortion” by its critics, is only permitted in six other countries and that it’s a savage process.
The legislation is opposed by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, the Pennsylvania Medical Society and the Pennsylvania section of the American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Gov. Tom Wolf held a press event in Montgomery County Monday called it “a disingenuous and baldfaced attempt to pass the most extreme anti-choice legislation in this country.”
He has said he will veto the bill if it reaches his desk.
Opponents pointed to a statistic reported in 2014 that nearly 99 percent of abortions occurred before the 20-week period.
State Rep. Leanne Krueger-Braneky, D-161, of Swarthmore, made a motion Monday to have SB3 recommitted to the House Health Committee but was unable to garner the needed support to do so. Her concern was the lack of public hearings to consider professional medical opinion in the debate.
“I will be telling their stories on the House floor because their voices need to be heard. This is the most extreme ban in the country ... It puts doctors in jail.”
— State Rep. Leanne Krueger-Braneky, D-161, of Swarthmore
In February, she hosted a listening session at Swarthmore College that was attended by Wolf and in which several women offered their stories about late-term abortions, some from personal points of view, others from professional perspectives.
On Tuesday, she said she would repeat those stories.
“I will be telling their stories on the House floor because their voices need to be heard,” she said. “This is the most extreme ban in the country ... It puts doctors in jail.”
State Rep. Margo Davidson, D-164, of Upper Darby, said she had consulted with several physicians prior to forming her opposition to the bill.
“There is no viability for a fetus at 22 weeks,” she said. “I think it is an unreasonable change in the law that won’t stand up to constitutional muster.”
State Rep. Greg Vitali, D-166, of Haverford, said he opposed SB3.
“I have always been supportive of a woman’s right to choose,” he said. “I simply support current law on the issue of a right to choose.”
Malcolm Yates, chief of staff for state Rep. Brian Kirkland, D-159, of Chester, explained why the representative voted against the bill.
“They did not have one public hearing, nor were there any testimonies from a medical expert regarding the bill,” Yates said. “This bill does not prioritize the needs of women throughout the commonwealth.”
Yates said Kirkland’s main concern was that it did not allow women the right to choose an abortion when it comes to rape and incest.
State Rep. Stephen Barrar, R-160, of Upper Chichester, said women still can exercise that right within the time frame.
“(In the) Pennsylvania Abortions Control Act there is an exception,” Barrar said. “We don’t touch that exception up to 20 weeks. The exception is there for the first five months.”
He identified the procedure impacted by this legislation as dismemberment abortion and said, “There’s only six countries in the world that allow for that to be done.”
He added, “Even doctors have admitted it is a very hard procedure to perform because of the way it’s done. A baby or a fetus at that age does feel pain.”
State Rep. Jamie Santora, R-163, of Upper Darby, shared his reasons for supporting the legislation before he cast his vote.
“After confirming that women who have a miscarriage will not be required to carry that child to full term and that the bill moves the timing to have a dismemberment abortion from 6 months to 5 months, I will be voting for SB3,” he said. “The definition clearly states that a dismemberment abortion includes purposely causing the death of an unborn child. I have received many letters and calls in support as well as letters and calls opposed to the bill.”
State Rep. Nick Miccarelli, R-162, of Ridley Park, shared his perspective on the bill.
“Only six other countries allow an abortion to be performed by dismembering a baby as it is aborted,” Miccarelli said, identifying North Korea, China and Vietnam among them. “Members of both parties will vote in favor of ending a procedure that many physicians told me they absolutely refuse to perform because of the sheer brutality of it.”
State Rep. Alex Charlton, R-165, of Springfield veered from the majority of his party in opposing SB3 due to no exception for fetal abnormalities and penalties on doctors.
“There are no more important issues of debate than those that pertain to life, and the issue of abortions is perhaps the most divisive,” he said. “The vote I was asked to make has weighed heavily on my mind and on my heart for many weeks and will likely continue to do so.”
Charlton spoke of one of his constituents who was excited to begin a family with her husband only to learn late in her pregnancy that the baby would not survive outside the womb due to a genetic defect.
“The defect was not detected until after the 20week mark,” he said. “Had this legislation been in place at the time, she would be left with little option but to spend the next several months knowing the life inside her was not meant for this world. Unfortunately, her story is not unique and is often the reason for a late-term abortion; not because she no longer wants the child, but because a genetic defect had made life for that child unlikely.”
A member of the House Health Committee, he said he would have preferred that this bill had a public hearing for further information from professionals.
“Many who are opposed to abortion in all situations hold this belief through deep spiritual and moral convictions,” Charlton said. “I respect and value their position. But we must concede that every pregnancy is unique and exceptions are necessary, particularly in the areas of rape, incest and fetal genetic anomaly. Regrettably, this bill does not include those exceptions. We cannot, as a diverse society, place ideology ahead of medicine.” He continued. “Actions that legislate and criminalize sound medical judgment and practice lead us down a dangerous path with drastic consequences,” he said. “We cannot ignore the hundreds of neonatologists, obstetricians and gynecologists who have raised serious concern over the negative impact this legislation would have on their patients.”
Attempts to reach state Rep. Chris Quinn, R-168, of Middletown were not successful.