Abortion

A bill that would have prohibited abortions because of a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome was vetoed Thursday by Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor.

Pennsylvania's state Senate passed a bill Wednesday to outlaw abortions because of a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, although it faces a veto on Gov. Tom Wolf's desk.

The state House has passed a bill that would require medical facilities to bury a fetus after a miscarriage or an abortion.

A group of Pennsylvania state legislators gathered in the Capitol on Monday to rally support for their effort to dramatically restrict access to abortion.

Abortion-rights supporters and opponents rarely share feelings on much of anything. But both sides were claiming victory — at least for the moment — after a federal appeals court tweaked a Pittsburgh ordinance that limits abortion protests outside women’s health clinics.

Pennsylvania House Republicans say language was added to appropriation legislation for the University of Pittsburgh to safeguard against using state dollars for abortion procedures.

For the second year in a row, House lawmakers have voted for a bill that would punish doctors who perform abortions based on a Down syndrome diagnosis.

A handful of Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Turzai, have announced they are resuscitating legislation that would make it a third-degree felony for doctors in the state to perform abortions based solely on prenatal Down syndrome diagnoses.

Women's health providers are sounding the alarm after the Trump administration unveiled the final draft of a rule to cut federal funding for health care providers that perform abortions, or that refer patients to clinics that do so.

A group of abortion providers is suing Pennsylvania in an attempt to get the procedure covered by state Medicaid dollars.

The politics of abortion could be especially prominent this fall as Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Republican Scott Wagner hit the final stretch of Pennsylvania's gubernatorial campaign.

A district attorney in Pennsylvania says should Roe v. Wade be overturned, he would not prosecute any women or medical professionals for seeking or performing safe abortion services.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala says there's concern that approval of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, could result in the landmark decision's reversal.

If it is overturned, abortion laws would revert to the states.

The Trump administration is considering policy changes that would cut government funding to health clinics that either provide abortions, or refer patients to clinics that do.

With less than a week before the primary elections, GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner is voicing his support for a restrictive abortion bill.

The stance is in line with a recurring theme in the race—the York County Senator’s apparent battle with rival Paul Mango over who is farther right politically.

A proposal to prohibit abortions in Pennsylvania when the sole reason is that the fetus has or may have Down syndrome is headed to the state Senate after passing the House by a comfortable margin.

Republican Shannon Edwards, 33, announced Wednesday that she’s seeking her party's nomination to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle in a district that includes the city of Pittsburgh and surrounding neighborhoods.

The Senate on Monday rejected legislation designed to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, a vote that put vulnerable Democrats on the record on the issue during an election year.

The vote was 51-46, short of the 60-vote threshold to advance the bill. Three Democratic-senators up for re-election in conservative states voted to advance the legislation: Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted with most Democrats to reject it.

Pennsylvania's Democratic governor has vetoed a bill passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature to limit abortions to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, rejecting what Planned Parenthood says would have been the nation's most restrictive abortion law.

Gov. Tom Wolf signed the veto paperwork Monday in Philadelphia City Hall.

Pennsylvania's current limit is 24 weeks. The 20-week limit would have kept in place exceptions under current law for when a mother's life or well-being is at risk. It had no exceptions for rape, incest or fetal abnormalities.

The state legislature has approved a bill that would make Pennsylvania’s abortion laws among the most restrictive in the country.

But this is likely the end of the road for the measure—at least this session.

Governor Wolf will veto the bill, and its supporters don’t appear to have quite enough sway to override it.

Senate Bill 3 would ban late-term abortions after 20 weeks, except in a medical emergency. The current limit is 24 weeks.

This is the last scheduled session week for state lawmakers this year, and they’re working long days to try and push through several bills that are either time-sensitive, or political priorities.

A few of the measures on the agenda have been a long time coming.

A compromise bill to restore a temporary cash stream to the state unemployment compensation program has been in the works since nearly 500 workers were laid off a year ago over funding concerns.

It has passed the House, and is now on its way through the Senate.

A bill narrowing the window to get an abortion in Pennsylvania could be on a fast track to Governor Tom Wolf’s desk sometime soon.