Statement on Abortion
Attacks on a woman’s right to choose did not begin with the Dobbs decision earlier this summer, but it raised the stakes. The next governor and state house majority in Harrisburg may very well determine whether abortion remains legal in our state. But ending legal abortion in Pennsylvania will not end abortion; it will make it so women have to seek abortion in unsafe medical conditions. If an abortion ban is passed in our commonwealth, women will die as a result. The impacts of ending Roe v. Wade are far reaching, impacting miscarriage care, treatment for ectopic pregnancies, and fertility treatment technology.
From the moment I was elected, I have done everything I could in my power to protect and expand women’s access to reproductive healthcare. I’ve steadfastly opposed legislation that would restrict a woman’s right to make choices for herself, her family, and her own body, including bills that would force women to register miscarriages and severely restrict access to abortion.
When Republicans in Harrisburg attempted to pass a bill that would have required women to have a ritual burial or cremation for any loss of a fertilized egg, including embryos in a lab, I took to the house floor to share my own experience trying to start a family with IVF and how the proposed bill would have made that journey even more challenging. I’m tired of women like myself needing to share their intimate, personal stories in an attempt to protect our bodily autonomy from dangerous, far-right legislation—but I also appreciate the many women who approached me after I delivered that speech to let me know about their own experiences with fertility treatments, including how expensive it can be. Inspired by their stories, I began working with a group of my fellow legislators on a bill that would require insurers to cover fertility treatments in Pennsylvania. I’m committed to finding ways to support more bills like that one, that would expand women’s access to reproductive health care in our state—not restrict it.