PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Legislation that would make it illegal to end a pregnancy because of a Down Syndrome diagnosis has passed the Pennsylvania State House and is heading to the State Senate.
Representative and bill sponsor Kate Klunk, R-York County, said the legislation would require a doctor providing an abortion to sign off that it was not motivated by a test or prenatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome.
“We made sure to add language to double, triple check that mothers are not held liable under this act,” she said.
She added that one of the primary goals is to prevent a woman from, in Klunk's words, being coerced into ending a pregnancy because of a Down Syndrome diagnosis.
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Other supporters of the bill say 92% of abortions happen before the gestational age where Down Syndrome can be diagnosed.
They say there is already a similar law that prevents abortion simply based on gender.
“(It) would simply add Down Syndrome, as a diagnosis, as an additional reason why a woman could not obtain an abortion prior to that 24 weeks," said Klunk.
But Representative Dan Frankel, D-Pittsburgh, said the bill forces politics in between a doctor and patient, and could lead to doctors being hesitant to recommend prenatal testing.
“Who is to say how these decisions are made or how they should be made," said Frankel.
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Representative Danielle Friel Otten, D-Chester County, said sometimes Down Syndrome is only one part of a diagnosis, with other issues that can be much more severe.
“Consider that a mother and father sitting in that genetics office are told that their unborn baby has no chance," said Friel Otten.
"But a room of lawmakers, not doctors, that did not understand the implications of their vote determined their fate for them.”
Opponents also pointed out the bill does nothing to expand support to families after the child is born.
The bill passed the House by a 120 to 83 vote and heads to the Senate, but Gov. Tom Wolf has already pledged a veto.