Pennsylvania voters can play a critical role in overriding the June 24 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority to overturn Roe v. Wade and end constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years.
The 6-3 decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is now effective. Abortion is now or will be soon be illegal in at least 21 states.
In those states, there is often no exception to abortion bans, even if the individual is a child or was impregnated through rape or incest.
As a result, many women will be forced to give birth. Doctors who perform abortions or prescribe medication to terminate pregnancies could be sent to prison.
In Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware abortion is still legal. But that could quickly change in Pennsylvania if voters elect a Republican governor to join the Republican-controlled state legislature.
If Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor and a strong anti-abortion advocate, is elected in November, abortion is likely to be abolished in Pennsylvania.
The reality is that the state legislature is likely to remain Republican-controlled after the general election in November. But in recent elections, Democrats have been elected governor, attorney general and other statewide positions.
Pennsylvania voters who want women to maintain the right to choose have no choice but to vote in November for Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democratic nominee for governor.
Pennsylvania voters can also play a crucial role regarding abortion rights on the national level.
Congress can override what the Supreme Court did and pass a law to legalize abortion in the United States.
To do that, voters need to elect more Democratic senators and hold the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
President Joe Biden could then sign a law codifying Roe v. Wade.
But first, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, needs to defeat Republican nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz. Fetterman and other Democrats need to win seats in the U.S. Senate not only to protect abortion rights but also voting rights, police reform and other reforms.
By voting for Democrats in the upcoming midterm election, Pennsylvania voters can play a crucial role in protecting abortion and other rights on a federal level.
(Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune)
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