NORRISTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Health care providers and Democratic lawmakers gathered Friday at the Women’s Center of Montgomery County to reaffirm their commitment to women’s health, including abortion services. They want to emphasize that abortion is still legal in Pennsylvania, though the future of this right is uncertain.
State Rep. Mary Jo Daley, D-Conshohocken, is the co-chair of the Women’s Health Caucus in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. She said they have held several hearings with health care providers about how the overturning of Roe v. Wade will affect Pennsylvania.
“When they are testifying at these hearings, they're emphasizing that abortion is health care, and is often the same procedure used for miscarriages,” said Daley.
“They shared their concerns about medical education, because a ban could affect what and how these doctors are trained.”
Daley said that politicians don’t necessarily have the knowledge, the understanding or the empathy to tell anyone else what to do with their body.
Abington obstetrician Dr. Karen Feisullin also considers abortion to be health care, and said there are a number of complications that can arise in pregnancy that could put the mother’s life at risk.
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“Sometimes patients have to make the unimaginable decision to end a desired pregnancy due to these complications,” said Dr. Feisullin.
“Pregnant patients may develop complications at any point in their pregnancy which can affect their health and be life-threatening.”
She adds that sometimes, patients seek abortion for other personal reasons, “affecting their lives, their livelihood and their ability to care for children they may already have.”
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Maria Macaluso, executive director of the Women’s Center of Montgomery County, explains violence against women can also lead to a necessary abortion.
“Including reproductive abuse and reproductive coercion,” said Macaluso. “Their tactics frequently include not allowing the victim to control their own birth control methods, forcing someone to either end or continue a pregnancy, pressuring a partner to get pregnant or sabotaging birth control.”
“Preventing a partner from having an abortion is abuse and forcing a partner to stay pregnant is, unfortunately, an effective way of keeping them dependent on the relationship itself,” she added, “and now we witness governmental institutional support and license for those tactics across our country.”
Gov, Tom Wolf and Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who is Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate, both reaffirmed their commitment to keeping abortion legal in the state.
Shapiro said abortion care for out-of-state residents has skyrocketed since the Dobbs decision.
“We will not cooperate with investigations into patients seeking healthcare in Pennsylvania,” said Shapiro.