Updated: Pennsylvania governor vetoes 20-week abortion limit

Harrisburg, Pa., Dec 13, 2017 / 16:01 pm

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a bill last week that would have limited abortions to 20 weeks into pregnancy and ban dismemberment abortion.

On Dec. 18, Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed the bill, as he had promised he would last week. 

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, criticized the governor's pledge to veto.

"His extreme pro-abortion stance is radically out of step with Pennsylvanians as he prepares to face the voters in 2018," she said Dec. 13.

The Susan B. Anthony List cited a 2013 Harper Polling survey that said 82 percent of Democratic primary voters in the state think abortion should be illegal in all or most circumstances.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed the legislation, Senate Bill 3, by a vote of 121-70 on Dec. 12. Six Republicans opposed the bill, while 12 Democrats voted in favor.

The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 32-18 in February. There are likely not enough votes to override a veto.

Wolf opposed the bill, saying it violated the doctor-patient relationship. He objected to its lack of exceptions for abortion in cases of pregnancy by rape or incest.

"These women deserve our support, not to be maligned by politicians in Harrisburg for making medical decisions about their bodies for their families with their doctors," the Democratic governor said in a statement.

Dannenfelser had another view.

"The Pennsylvania legislature just took a bold step to protect unborn children and their mothers," she said. "We are encouraged by the legislature's action and look forward to the day when all unborn children are protected under the law."

The state currently bars abortions 24 weeks or later into pregnancy.

Backers of the bill cited progress in medicine that allows premature babies to survive earlier in pregnancy than before.

The bill would have preserved current exemptions for when a mother's life is at risk, or if she is at risk of a serious permanent injury, the Associated Press reports. It would not allow exemptions for rape, incest, or fetal abnormalities.

Dawn Keefer, R-York, said the issue should not be framed only in terms of women's rights. Rather, she asked, "what about the rights of those pre-born women in the womb being exterminated?"

Rep. Mary Jo Daley, D-Montgomery, characterized the bill as an attempt to control women "by imposing the views of some legislators on women, and I think that's wrong – that's morally wrong."

The dismemberment abortion ban would have in effect banned dilation-and-evacuation abortion, the most common method of abortion in the second trimester of pregnancy.

"Dismemberment abortion is completely inhumane, it's barbaric," said Rep. Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-York.

Federal legislation to bar abortion after 20 weeks has made some progress. On Oct. 3 the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act late by a vote of 237 to 189, largely along party lines. It was expected to fail in the Senate.

Dannenfelser, however, claimed, "Momentum is building to pass a national ban on late-term abortion more than halfway through pregnancy."

An override of the governor's veto would require a two-thirds vote from both legislative houses of the state of Pennsylvania.