…you should give each of them a vigorous “thumbs down” for overreach. The first proposed amendment declares that the state Constitution does not grant any right relating to abortion, including no right to public funding for the procedure. While it’s true that currently there is no mention of abortion rights in the state Constitution, Pennsylvania does permit the procedure up to 24 weeks and longer in extreme cases. And public funding is available for abortion only in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest.
However, passing this amendment would set the stage for the state Legislature to outlaw the procedure completely, with no exceptions, at a future date. The amendment would also seem to run afoul of section 28 of the state Constitution, which reads, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because of the sex of the individual.”
Republican lawmakers have increasingly relied on constitutional amendments to pursue policy initiatives that Gov. Tom Wolf would otherwise reject and that most Democrats don’t support. Bundling together several amendments represents an escalation of that tactic, as the combined measures eliminate the need to advance and pass separate proposals.
The resulting omnibus bill is packed with initiatives that Republicans hope to send directly to voters all at once as separate ballot questions.
Democratic lawmakers joined physicians and faith leaders in the Pennsylvania Capitol on Wednesday, speaking against a five-part constitutional amendment package that includes language to amend the Constitution to state that it does not guarantee any rights to abortion or public funding for the procedure.
In July, the Republican-controlled Legislature approved the amendment package, Senate Bill 106. It could reach voters as early as May 2023 if it passes again during the next legislative session, which starts in January 2023. A governor cannot veto a proposed constitutional amendment.
The Republican-controlled Legislature has crossed into dangerous territory that threatens the system of checks and balances inside the Pennsylvania Capitol, embracing a tactic to pass constitutional amendments that can’t be vetoed by Gov. Tom Wolf, a Senate Democratic leader says.
“We’re crossing a historical marker,” Anthony Williams, the Senate Democratic whip, told LNP | LancasterOnline. “This is about raw, partisan, political power.”
After Kansas voters overwhelmingly rejected a constitutional amendment to allow that state to prohibit all abortions, other states are considering similar measures.
As political editor Jon Delano explains, Pennsylvania voters could face the same issue next year.
Abortion rights supporters in Pennsylvania are worried about a proposed amendment not yet on the ballot.
Typically, lawmakers introduce proposed changes in separate resolutions, a system that gives each revision its own platform for legislators to debate, amend and consider. But as a bundle, lawmakers are forced to vote for all or none of them.
“From a procedural point of view when you do this — when you throw a lot of amendments into one bill — you don’t have hearings, you don’t have discussion, no one knows they’re coming,” said Marc Stier, director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, a progressive research group that studies the state’s economy and government.
The rally is designed to address Ward’s support for Senate Bill 106. One of the elements of the bill’s five proposed state Constitutional amendments would give voters the opportunity to decide whether there is a constitutional right to taxpayer-funded abortion or other rights relating to abortion.
“I think it is a very poor thing to put any restrictions on abortion rights when Roe v. Wade has been overturned by the Dobbs decision,” in a Supreme Court ruling last month, Piern said.
The overturning of Roe v. Wade means abortion is no longer permitted as a right under the U.S. Constitution. If Pennsylvanians vote Yes to SB 106, our Constitution will deny us this right.
Pro-birth legislators have been working on similar bills and constitutional amendments for years. History tells us making abortion illegal won’t stop it, but it will produce healthcare complications and deaths. Passage of SB 106 will also produce children who, once born, SB 106′s sponsors neglect by failing to support legislation to protect children and families.