Area lawmakers, church figures react to Roe v. Wade decision
news@greenecountymessenger.com
Area lawmakers had mixed reactions to the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, allowing states to make their own abortion laws.
Republican Sen. Pat Toomey issued a statement that read, “The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization restores the American people’s ability to determine abortion laws through their elected representatives, as the Constitution requires. Precedents that are wrongly decided should be overturned, just as Brown v. Board of Education was right to overturn Plessy v. Ferguson.”
He continued, “This ruling is a win for the unborn, the Constitution, and democratic governance.”
Democrat Sen. Bob Casey decried the Supreme Court’s decision to end the constitutional right to abortion.
“(The) decision upends almost a half-century of legal precedent and rips away a constitutional right that generations of women have known their entire lives,” he said in a statement.
“This dangerous ruling won’t end abortions in this country, but it will put women’s lives at risk. And make no mistake – this is not the end goal, it’s just the beginning. Republicans in Congress want to pass federal legislation to completely ban abortion. Our daughters and granddaughters should not grow up with fewer rights than their mothers.”
Pennsylvania is not one of the states with “trigger laws” that will go into effect as a result of the decision.
In early May, when news of the Supreme Court’s decision was leaked to the public, showing that a majority of the justices favored overturning the landmark abortion case, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said that abortion would remain legal in the state.
He reiterated that, but his second term in office is set to expire, and November’s gubernatorial election could determine the legality of abortion in Pennsylvania.
Democratic candidate, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, is pro choice.
Republican candidate Sen. Doug Mastriano is pro life.
Shapiro responded to the Supreme Court’s decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
He wrote:
“The Dobbs decision will go down as a shameful moment for our country and for the Court. (F)ive Supreme Court Justices upended 50 years of settled law and subjected the health and private lives of millions of American women to the whims of politicians.”
“As a result of (the) decision, every American’s personal freedoms now depend on the state in which they live. Here in Pennsylvania, decisions about your bodies will now be left to elected officials in Harrisburg – giving those politicians more power than women in our Commonwealth.”
He continued, “Wheels are already in motion to ban abortion in more than half of our country. I can promise you that if patients travel from those states into Pennsylvania – I will fight to protect them and their doctors from extreme politicians attempting to illegally interfere.”
Shapiro said the decision opens the door for Pennsylvania legislature to ban or criminalize abortion “by simply passing a law – because there are no longer federal protections.”
Mastriano, who has cosponsored a “fetal heartbeat” bill that would drastically restrict abortion access without exceptions, lauded the decision.
In a statement, he said, “Roe v. Wade is rightly relegated to the ash heap of history. As the abortion debate returns to the states, Pennsylvania must be prepared to lead the nation in being a voice for the voiceless.”
Abortion is permitted in Pennsylvania through the 23rd week of pregnancy, and afterwards when necessary to protect the life or health of the mother.
Thirteen states with ‘trigger bans” that are designed to go into effect as soon as Roe v. Wade is overturned will ban abortion within 30 days.
Trigger laws are likely to take effect immediately in three states: Kentucky, Louisiana and South Dakota.
Local bishops cheered the court’s decision.
Said Bishop David Zubik of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh:
“Those of us who have worked and prayed to protect unborn children are profoundly grateful that the Supreme Court of the United States has determined that there is not a constitutional right for abortion,” he said in a statement. “In response, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh will continue to support and encourage legislation that protects unborn children.”
Bishop Larry Kulick of the Diocese of Greensburg said in a press release that from its beginning, the Catholic Church has consistently upheld the sanctity of human life.
“Although our language has evolved as science and technology have developed, the Church’s moral foundation on the issue of life, from conception to natural death, has never changed.”
The bishops said the Catholic Church supports women with crisis pregnancies and young families who struggle to raise their children by offering medical and social assistance, and by collaborating with groups that provide child care, life skills, education, shelter and help with other basic needs.
Kulick also called for a greater response to those who face unexpected pregnancies and an increase in support for mothers and families at the diocesan and parish levels.