GOP officials just can’t keep their hands off of women’s rights. Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania have once again taken a step backward in reproductive health rights by changing the Keystone State’s abortion laws. At least three “pro-life” bills were passed May 25 by the state’s House Health Committee, including the Heartbeat Bill (House Bill 904), the Unborn Child Dignity Act (House Bill 118), and the Down Syndrome Protection Act (House Bill 1500).
“Each of these pro-life bills helps to recognize the humanity of the unborn child,” said Alexis Stefani, communications and policy officer for Pennsylvania Family Institute. While each of the bills allegedly protects unborn children, it disregards the humanity of the pregnant person. But that’s not all: The state has also voted to fine women who miscarry and force them to fill out a form. So not only are women unable to decide whether they would like to have children but should they miscarry, they are expected to face further trauma by having to report it to the state.
While Republicans have attempted to implement multiple anti-women’s choice legislation in the past in Pennsylvania, Tuesday’s passage of the three bills is the farthest they have gotten as of late. Prior to that, former Gov. Tom Corbett signed a law for abortion clinic standards in 2011 and denied abortion coverage through Obamacare in 2013, GoErie reported. The three new bills passed intend to go even further in restricting access to abortions.