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, 鈥淭he U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women鈥檚 Health Organization restores the American people鈥檚 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.鈥�
He continued, 鈥淭his ruling is a win for the unborn, the Constitution, and democratic governance.鈥�
Democrat Sen. Bob Casey decried the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision to end the constitutional right to abortion.
鈥�(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,鈥� he said in a statement.
鈥淭his dangerous ruling won鈥檛 end abortions in this country, but it will put women鈥檚 lives at risk. And make no mistake 鈥� this is not the end goal, it鈥檚 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.鈥�
Pennsylvania is not one of the states with 鈥渢rigger laws鈥� that will go into effect as a result of the decision.
In early May, when news of the Supreme Court鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women鈥檚 Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
He wrote:
鈥淭he 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.鈥�
鈥淎s a result of (the) decision, every American鈥檚 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 鈥� giving those politicians more power than women in our Commonwealth.鈥�
He continued, 鈥淲heels 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 鈥� I will fight to protect them and their doctors from extreme politicians attempting to illegally interfere.鈥�
Shapiro said the decision opens the door for Pennsylvania legislature to ban or criminalize abortion 鈥渂y simply passing a law 鈥� because there are no longer federal protections.鈥�
Mastriano, who has cosponsored a 鈥渇etal heartbeat鈥� bill that would drastically restrict abortion access without exceptions, lauded the decision.
In a statement, he said, 鈥淩oe 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.鈥�
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 鈥榯rigger bans鈥� 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鈥檚 decision.
Said Bishop David Zubik of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh:
鈥淭hose 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,鈥� he said in a statement. 鈥淚n response, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh will continue to support and encourage legislation that protects unborn children.鈥�
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.
鈥淎lthough our language has evolved as science and technology have developed, the Church鈥檚 moral foundation on the issue of life, from conception to natural death, has never changed.鈥�
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.