Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf signs executive order to protect abortion seekers traveling from other states

Pennsylvania has joined New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut in offering protections for out-of-state people seeking reproductive health services, including abortion, as roughly half of U.S. states ban or work to impose restrictions on abortion.

“Here in Pennsylvania, I will not stand for this attack on women and pregnant people,” said Gov. Tom Wolf in a statement Tuesday.

The executive order and its protections are set to take immediate effect and come weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which returned the issue of abortion to the states. But unlike some states that have passed so-called safe-haven laws through their legislatures, Pennsylvania only has an executive order. And the gubernatorial election in November will determine whether it remains in place.

The order bars any agency, board, or commission that answers to the governor’s office from using Pennsylvania resources to help another state’s investigation into a patient seeking reproductive health services, or the providers helping them. This protection does not apply if cooperation is required by court order or if the actions being investigated broke laws in the commonwealth.

What’s more, the governor will deny any request to arrest or extradite someone who received reproductive health services in Pennsylvania or assisted in these services. The protection doesn’t apply if the individual broke Pennsylvania laws or was physically in a state where these services are illegal.

Executive agencies have been directed to work with the professional licensing boards under their purview to consider policies that would protect providers from being disciplined or losing their licenses for assisting out-of-state people in accessing reproductive health services.

Executive agencies have also been instructed to consider ways they can inform the public about reproductive health care in Pennsylvania, including the cost and availability of these services, as well as how their information is protected in personal devices.

States like Massachusetts and Minnesota have added similar protections through executive order, while states like New York and New Jersey have added these protections through legislation.

While abortion remains legal in these states, reproductive health-care providers expect an influx of out-of-state patients from places where abortion is banned. Experts say these protections help reassure providers and patients from states that might try to intervene with their residents’ attempts to travel elsewhere for treatment.

“The New Jersey bill and the other laws say, ‘We’re going to try and make it so it’s hard for you to even try to wrap our providers into this mess … because we’re not going to participate and we’re not going to order our people to participate,’” said David S. Cohen, professor at the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law.

» READ MORE: New Jersey adds measures to protect out-of-state abortion seekers and the medical providers helping them

Abortion in Pennsylvania remains legal through 24 weeks, but that could change if Republican State Sen. Doug Mastriano beats state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, in the governor’s race.

Like Wolf, who has vetoed three antiabortion bills, Shapiro has vowed to protect reproductive rights. Mastriano sponsored a six-week abortion ban and has said he believes life begins at conception. Should Mastriano take office, he could rescind Wolf’s protections. And if Republicans maintain control of the legislature, Mastriano could sign their bills restricting abortion access.

» READ MORE: In the high-stakes election for Pennsylvania governor that will decide the future of abortion access in the state, the two candidates’ records on the matter could hardly be more divergent.

This is where it gets tricky. The Republican-controlled legislature is working to pass a constitutional amendment that says there’s no right to abortion in Pennsylvania. This change to the constitution must be approved by voters, but can’t be vetoed by the governor.

» READ MORE: Pa. Senate and House approve amendment declaring that abortion is not a constitutional right

The amendment, which passed the House and Senate last week, must pass in a second legislative session to move forward. Should it pass again at the start of 2023, the amendment could be on the ballot as early as May.

“If there isn’t a good turnout in the election, if it’s worded in a way that is confusing to people, if it does become an amendment to our Pennsylvania Constitution, it then paves the way for criminalization and complete bans on abortion going forward,” said Amal Bass, interim co-executive director of the Women’s Law Project.