On Monday, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a bill passed by Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled legislature that would have restricted the performance of abortions to 20 weeks after a pregnant woman’s last menstrual period.
At a press conference before vetoing the bill, Gov. Wolf called the bill a “vile assault on women’s abilities to make their own decisions about their own healthcare.” Wolf signed the veto paperwork in a public ceremony in Philadelphia City Hall and said that the bill “is so extreme it does not even include exceptions for women and girls who are victims of rape and incest.”
In Pennsylvania, the current abortion limit is 24 weeks. The 20-week bill would have kept the exceptions for when a mother’s life or well-being is at risk, but, as Gov. Wolf stated, would not have included cases of rape, incest or fetal abnormalities. Nineteen states have a similar ban, the likes of which Wolf has described as “a disingenuous and bald-faced attempt to pass the most extreme anti-choice legislation in the country.”
An argument made by Republican state Senator Michele Brooks was that a fetus can survive outside the womb at 20 weeks gestation because of advances in technology. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists invalidated this argument, however, reporting that delivery before 23 weeks gestation typically results in death and severe morbidity among the rare survivors.
The bill would have also banned dilation-and-evacuation procedures, which are commonly done for second trimester abortions. This procedure would have been replaced with one that included first injecting the fetus with saline to make the procedure safer. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also invalidated this by reporting that there is no evidence that inducing fetal death makes the procedure safer.
Although Gov. Wolf was accused of being a “puppet” of Planned Parenthood, pro-choice advocates across Pennsylvania and the U.S. are grateful for the Governor’s support of women.“We thank Governor Wolf for standing strong to protect women’s health and rights,” said Cecile Richards, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
