Statement on SB106, Constitutional Amendment Bill Threatening Abortion Rights

Late Friday night, the PA House and Senate recessed until September after voting on a constitutional amendment that would rearrange the balance of power in Pennsylvania and call multiple rights into question, including the right to reproductive healthcare.

The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania strongly opposes SB106, a constitutional amendment bill which poses a major threat to Pennsylvanians' ability to control their own bodies and futures.

The passage of Senate Bill 106 is emblematic of how broken the legislative process in Harrisburg is. Legislative leaders manipulated procedural rules to ram through a bill with multiple contentious topics late in the day, just before summer recess, with no public hearings, no genuine minority party input, and little opportunity for the public to engage or even see what was taking place.

The League of Women voters believes that there is no equality without reproductive rights. Banning abortion would have immediate and dire consequences on Pennsylvanians’ lives and would disproportionately harm people of color and low income communities.

While this bill has passed the state legislature, it still has a long way to go before it is implemented. We applaud Governor Wolf’s Executive Order today, which will ensure that out-of-state residents may enter Pennsylvania to access reproductive health care services.

Remember, abortion is currently still legal in Pennsylvania and we will continue to fight to protect all Pennsylvanians’ reproductive rights. 

WHAT IS SB106? 
SB106, which recently passed the Pennsylvania’s Senate and House of Representatives, would ask voters to declare that there is no right to an abortion in Pennsylvania and would ban abortions funded by tax dollars. This bill represents a serious threat to Pennsylvanians’ ability to make decisions about their own reproductive health.  In addition to the anti-abortion measures in the bill, SB106 would also allow for gubernatoral candidates to pick their Lieutenant Governor and would impose stricter voter-ID requirements in the Commonwealth, making it harder for Pennsylvanians to vote. 

WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS FOR SB106?
SB106 passed the state House and Senate. In order to be implemented, the amendment must pass two consecutive sessions of the General Assembly. The amendment will then be placed on the ballot for voters to vote on. Constitutional amendments like SB106 do not need the Governor’s signature to be signed, and the Governor cannot veto these amendments. 

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PROTECT ABORTION ACCESS IN PENNSYLVANIA? 

• Learn how to be an activist: Join the ACLU People Power’s Abortion Activist Series, a collection of virtual events and trainings on how you can join the fight for abortion rights, no matter where you live. 
  
  

• Sign the Fix Harrisburg Petition: The closed-door process that allowed this bill to pass is a clear example of the broken lawmaking process in Pennsylvania. Sign and share the Fix Harrisburg petition. 
  
  

• Talk to your friends and family about abortion rights, and why it’s important to vote 2022: Who we elect next, and their stance on abortion, will have implications for abortion access in Pennsylvania for years to come. Register to vote in November at vote.pa.gov. Organize a voter registration drive in your neighborhood to help get out the vote on this issue.
  
  

• Tell your U.S. Senators to support abortion access: Contact Senator Bob Casey and Senator Pat Toomey to ask them to protect abortion rights.
  
  

• Call your State lawmakers to support abortion access: Make your voice heard in Harrisburg. Contact your State Representative and State Senator to let them know you support equitable abortion access. 
  
  

• Donate to Pennsylvania abortion funds: Make a donation to organizations that provide financial assistance to abortion patients:
  Abortion Liberation Fund of PA
  Indigenous Women Rising
  Indeedana
  National Abortion Federation
  The Brigid Alliance
  
  

• Support the League: Abortion access is a democracy issue. Support our election work to ensure that Pennsylvanians are educated on this issue and are empowered at the polls. Join your Local League and donate now.
  
  

• Don’t give up. The right to choose should have never been up for debate. Everyone deserves access to safe and legal abortions. And we encourage you to join us until that is the reality in Pennsylvania and across the United States.