Lawmakers in the Pennsylvania House passed a bill Wednesday that would protect out-of-state residents who travel to the state for an abortion, as well as abortionists who kill preborn children in other states where it is illegal.
House Bill 1786 prevents state and local officials from cooperating with other state investigations regarding abortion violations. It passed the House 117-86, with one Democrat voting against the bill and 16 Republicans voting for it.
“I strongly believe that Pennsylvania must continue to pass policies that protect access to abortion and other critical reproductive health care services that people across our nation need and deserve,” said the bill’s primary sponsor, Democratic Rep. Mary Jo Daley.
“While we cannot prevent other states from criminalizing abortion, what we can do here in this Commonwealth is to protect individuals who are seeking health care, as well as those who are providing that care,” added state Rep. Melissa Shusterman, the bill’s co-sponsor.
“This protects the sovereignty of Pennsylvania to allow people to come to Pennsylvania and do something that is legal in Pennsylvania and not be prosecuted for it,” state Rep. Emily Kinkead said.
Those opposed to the bill warned that it would protect abortionists who commit botched abortions or violate safety laws from prosecution.
“If a physician in another state commits an act of malpractice, even in an abortion, and that physician moves to Pennsylvania, the individual who has been affected by malpractice in another state is going to be significantly limited in their ability to obtain justice, if not altogether prohibited,” Rep. Tim Bonner cautioned.
Another Representative, Charity Grimm Krupa, said that the bill violates the clause in the U.S. Constitution which requires states to respect the judicial process of others.
“Everybody in this room swore an oath to uphold the Constitution,” she said. “If you vote in the affirmative on this bill, regardless of your position on abortion, you are ignoring your oath. You’re throwing that oath in the trash can. I refuse to do that.”
The bill next heads to the Republican-controlled state Senate.
