Pennsylvania Senator aims to codify abortion rights into law with new bills
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — A Pennsylvania Senator is aiming to protect abortion and women's health rights in the Commonwealth, citing the U.S. Supreme Court's (SCOTUS) decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health as a driving factor.
The case was heard and struck down by SCOTUS in June 2022, when Roe v. Wade was overturned. More specifically, the decision concerning Dobbs declared that the U.S. Constitution confers no right to an abortion. Senator Judith Schwank (D-Berks) argued that this decision has led to total or near-total bans on abortion in many states in her newest legislation.
Nearly one in three women aged 15 to 44 live in states where abortion is banned or mostly banned, according to Schwank's bill. Because of this, women are being denied 'urgent, and in some cases livesaving, medical care.'
'While we cannot prevent other states from criminalizing abortion, we can protect individuals seeking and providing reproductive health services in the Commonwealth,' Schwank wrote. 'We can take a stance against the use of our criminal justice system from assisting in those prosecutions.'
Previously, former Governor Tom Wolf issued an executive order to protect persons seeking reproductive health care services in Pennsylvania and medical professionals offering those services from discipline in other states. However, the executive order needs paired legislation in order to be codified into law, which is what Schwank argued she is attempting to do.
There are seven bills within Schwank's package, and they aim to do the following:
Prohibit Pennsylvania courts from cooperating with out-of-state civil and criminal cases involving reproductive healthcare services; prevent officials from other states from arresting individuals in Pennsylvania for an abortion-related crime.
Prohibit Pennsylvania courts from enforcing another state's judgment for a case involving the provision of reproductive healthcare services.
Instruct our healthcare licensure boards not to take adverse action against providers who offer reproductive healthcare services to out-of-state residents.
Instruct insurance companies not to take adverse action against providers who offer reproductive healthcare services to out-of-state residents.
Protect Pennsylvania's abortion providers' home addresses from public discovery.
Protect reproductive health care records from disclosure in Pennsylvania civil actions or criminal investigations.
Shield healthcare providers by allowing doctors to request that only the address of the dispensing health care practice be listed on prescription labels, omitting the name of the individual prescriber or clinic.
Schwank noted that the measures outlined in her package of bills would ensure that everybody within Pennsylvania borders is protected in their right to access an abortion and the doctors and nurses who provide it are freely able to do so.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Former federal prosecutor warns SCOTUS about giving DOGE access to Social Security data
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, was surprisingly returned to the U.S. to face federal criminal charges after the Trump administration adamantly refused to bring him back to U.S. soil. Former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York Berit Berger shares her insight on this and recent SCOTUS decisions.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump dumps the Federalist Society — and even Republicans are shooketh
In a major about-face, Donald Trump is turning on the conservative powerhouse that built his judicial legacy, the Federalist Society. Yale Law professor Akhil Reed Amar warns that this break with the very group that helped propel him to power marks a dangerous shift. 'He just wants loyalty to himself—thugs and hacks,' Amar says, adding that Federalist Society judges are principled and loyal to the Constitution, not to Trump. 'The Senate needs to play a really important role now—especia
The Hill
4 hours ago
- The Hill
Trump signals case against Abrego Garcia will be ‘very easy'
President Trump on Saturday said the Justice Department's (DOJ) latest case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia — the man mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year amid Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration — should be 'very easy' for prosecutors. The comment comes after news broke Friday that Abrego Garcia would return to the U.S. to face smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. Asked about the administration's seeming reversal in bringing the man home, the president gave full credit to DOJ. 'The Department of Justice decided to do it that way, and that's fine,' Trump told NBC News in a phone call Saturday, adding, 'that wasn't my decision.' But, he told the outlet, 'It should be a very easy case.' The unsealed indictment charges Abrego Garcia with the unlawful transportation of undocumented aliens and a related conspiracy charge. According to the court filing, prosecutors allege that he made more than 100 trips between Texas and other areas in the U.S. over the course of several years to transport illegal immigrants in exchange for money. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday took a victory lap over the case. 'Our government presented El Salvador with an arrest warrant, and they agreed to return him to our country,' she told reporters during a news conference. 'The grand jury found that over the past nine years, Abrego Garcia has played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring.' 'They found this was his full-time job, not a contractor. He was a smuggler of humans and children and women,' Bondi added. The DOJ chief also noted that once a trial is complete, Abrego Garcio once again be deported to El Salvador. His return to the U.S. comes after the White House fought numerous court rulings for months that ordered the administration to facilitate his return, including one from the Supreme Court. Trump, officials and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele alike rejected the order, arguing the man — who had been living in Maryland under a protective order — was linked to MS-13 gang activity. Asked if he had spoken to Bukele in recent days, the president told the outlet that he had not. The two met at the White House earlier this year. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who faced scrutiny earlier this year over his meeting with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, called his return to the U.S. a 'victory' for due process, despite the charges. 'This is a victory for due process. It's a victory for the Constitution. It should not have taken this long. I mean … the Trump administration dragged its feet for a very long time and ignored a 9 to 0 order from the Supreme Court,' he told MSNBC in an interview Friday. 'But it's important that Abrego Garcia now come home and have his due process rights upheld in a court of law.' Trump responded to the comments by calling Van Hollen a 'loser.' 'He's a loser. The guy's a loser. They're going to lose because of that same thing. That's not what people want to hear,' he told NBC on Saturday. 'He's trying to defend a man who's got a horrible record of abuse, abuse of women in particular.' 'No, he's a total loser, this guy,' the president added.
