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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
| State Rep. Dan Frankel |
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Frankel: Abortion bill 'giant step backward for Pa. women'; urges veto
HARRISBURG, Dec. 14 – State Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, said anti-abortion legislation (S.B. 732) headed to the governor's desk is a "giant step backward for Pennsylvania women."
The House passed the bill over Frankel's strong objections Tuesday, and the Senate passed it today.
"This bill would impose several new restrictions on clinics that offer this legal service to women, likely forcing most Pennsylvania clinics to close as a similar law in Texas did. It would force many low-income women to seek illegal, unsafe abortions, the opposite of the bill's stated purpose. I offered an alternative, which was defeated, that would have actually addressed the core problem at the Philadelphia 'house of horrors' clinic – the state simply failed to do its job inspecting that clinic. As is said so often about other issues, we need to enforce the laws we already have," Frankel said.
"The lengthy debate on bills regarding abortion clinic regulations has made one thing clear – this bill is not about women's health and safety, but about limiting access to abortion. Not one medical organization supports the legislation. Instead, its supporters are those organizations dedicated to stopping legal abortions. This is a back-door attack on a constitutional right of women and the Roe v. Wade decision.
"I wish we had spent the hours and days devoted to this bill on proposals that would benefit women's health and safety instead – women's health measures like protecting our environment from the impacts of Marcellus Shale drilling, and women's safety, like supporting the creation of good jobs to help women and men support their families."
The Senate concurred with 18 no votes, meaning the governor can still veto the legislation and have a veto sustained.
"I urge Governor Corbett to do the right thing and veto this big-government intrusion into women's health care and self-determination," Frankel said.
"The House and Senate Republican leadership has spent valuable time on restricting women's rights instead of acting on the highest priority of most Pennsylvanians: jobs. In these economic times, there is no excuse for that. House Democrats have a plan to jumpstart Pennsylvania's economy: JumpstartPA."
More information about JumpstartPA is available online at www.pahouse.com.
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