ICYMI: WHYY: “PA’S GOP GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFULS SEE A BLUEPRINT IN TEXAS ABORTION LAW”

PENNSYLVANIA — The Texas abortion ban upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court last week has put women’s health care at risk across the country — including in Pennsylvania, where a Democratic governor is the only backstop against Harrisburg Republicans’ relentless efforts to restrict and ban abortion. With the right to choose on the ballot next year, WHYY asked the Republican candidates for governor whether or not they would sign a Texas-style abortion ban — and sure enough, they were in support:

WHYY: Many Of Pennsylvania’s GOP Gubernatorial Hopefuls See A Blueprint In Texas Abortion Law

By Katie Meyer

…State Sen. Doug Mastriano, a close ally of former president Donald Trump who is widely expected to run for governor, didn’t respond to a request for comment. But he wrote on his Facebook page that the U.S. Supreme Court’s lack of action to block the Texas law is “great news” and “a victory for States’ rights.” He has also sponsored legislation in the past that would functionally outlaw most abortions by banning them after six weeks.

A spokesperson for Lou Barletta, the former Pennsylvania congressman and unsuccessful 2018 U.S. Senate candidate, said in a statement that “everyone knows that Lou Barletta is pro-life,” adding that Barletta is “not going to predict what kind of legislation will come to his desk, but when he’s governor he will be a pro-life governor.”

Charlie Gerow, a longtime GOP strategist now running for governor, said while he’s not convinced the court is primed to formally uphold Texas’s law or overturn Roe v. Wade, he’d be happy to see significant abortion restrictions in Pennsylvania.

Specifically, he said, he supported a bill that passed the legislature in 2019 that would have banned abortions performed on a basis of a Down syndrome diagnosis, and a 2017 bill that would have narrowed the state’s legal abortion window from 24 to 20 weeks and banned a common procedure known as dilation and evacuation. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed both of those bills.

“I think that scaling back abortion is a good idea,” Gerow said. “We have way too many abortions in Pennsylvania, way too many in America. And the old adage about it being rare is completely out the window.”

According to the CDC, about 619,000 abortions were performed nationwide in 2018 — or roughly 11.3 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years, and 189 abortions per 1,000 live births. Of the abortions performed, 92% were at 13 weeks’ gestation or sooner.

Joe Gale, a Republican Montgomery County commissioner who has, like Mastriano, positioned himself as a close Trump ally, said in an email that “the heartbeat legislation in Texas is a step in the right direction towards ending the atrocity of abortion.”

As governor, Gale said, he would make it his “utmost priority to protect every child from the moment of conception. Allowing the most defenseless and voiceless among us to be legally murdered in the womb is unacceptable, unethical and unforgivable. Under my leadership, Pennsylvania will be a sanctuary state for innocent unborn life.”

Two Republican state senators who have expressed interest in running for governor, Lancaster County’s Scott Martin and Erie County’s Dan Laughlin, weren’t immediately available for comment. But their votes on previous bills give a picture of their leanings.

Martin voted in favor of both the 2017 dilation and evacuation ban, as well as the 2019 bill banning abortions based on Down syndrome.

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