Abortion is still legal in Pennsylvania — but it’s hanging by a thread | Expert Opinion

On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The decision overturns Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey, and creates a seismic shift in federal policy related to abortion.

Without a federal law declaring abortion is legal, it’s up to individual states to decide whether abortion is legal within their borders.

In Pennsylvania, abortion will remain legal — for now. This might not be the case for long.

» READ MORE: With Roe decision, Supreme Court sneers at precedent — and places women’s health in jeopardy | Editorial

That’s because anti-abortion lawmakers in the Pennsylvania legislature have been anticipating this moment, and have already introduced Senate Bill 956 and House Bill 2252 — a constitutional amendment that would strip away the right to an abortion in the state, and open the floodgates to criminalizing the procedure.

Most Pennsylvanians support legal access to abortion, and for good reason. There is extensive evidence that access to abortion is associated with improved maternal and infant health outcomes. If abortion is restricted, a rise in maternal mortality will surely follow.

“This is not a moment to be complacent.”

We are already amid a maternal health crisis. Additional restrictions on abortion will exacerbate racial injustice by disproportionately affecting Black and low-income Philadelphians. In Philadelphia, Black women are four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women. Between 2013 and 2018, 110 deaths associated with pregnancy occurred. If abortion becomes more restricted in the state and forces people to carry potentially dangerous pregnancies, we can expect the number of pregnancy-related deaths to climb — particularly in Philadelphia, where the maternal mortality rate is higher than the national average.

The risk of death with pregnancy intersects with other public health crises in our city: substance use and mental health needs. An abortion ban will affect these conditions too — with devastating consequences for the health of our community. Many of those who die in the period around their pregnancy also use substances or struggle with mental health. Prohibiting or restricting abortion in Pennsylvania will make this worse. People denied abortion are more likely to experience depression and anxiety than those who can obtain one. If people who have these conditions become pregnant and cannot access a desired abortion, they will suffer. This sharply contrasts with what people experience after obtaining a desired abortion, as the vast majority feel comfortable with their decision.

The roots of disparities in maternal mortality are pervasive in our society. Structural racism, residential segregation, transgenerational poverty, and lack of access to high quality care coalesce in the untimely deaths of so many Philadelphians. It is critical that Senate Bill 956 and House Bill 2252 does not pass and further entrench these inequities in our city.

This is not a moment to be complacent. It is of the utmost importance that you engage your representatives to take action on this issue. Vote for a person who will uphold your position. Talk to your neighbors and friends. And, if this measure comes to the ballot box as a constitutional amendment, see it for what it is: a flagrant attack on pregnant people’s ability to determine whether, when, and under what circumstances they become parents.

Alice Abernathy, MD is an OB/GYN and a postdoctoral research fellow in the National Clinician Scholars Program (NCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania. Aasta D. Mehta, MD, MPP is an OB/GYN and the Medical Officer of Women’s Health at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Division of Maternal, Child, and Family Health.