HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s General Assembly approved five proposed constitutional amendments Friday, including one that would declare Pennsylvanians do not have any rights “relating to an abortion,” as well as another to require voters to provide government ID to cast a ballot.
The House approved the measures 107-92, after nearly five hours of debate that went into Friday night. The Senate approved it Friday morning by a vote of 28-22.
This debate began in the Senate late Thursday night, after a state Senate committee advanced these amendments. Senate Democrats expressed their anger late Thursday for the late committee vote, which they said occurred with little notice and after many Pennsylvania residents were asleep.
Before this appears on the ballot, both chambers would need to approve the resolution again next year. It could go before the voters for a vote as early as the 2023 primary election.
The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Judy Ward, a Blair Republican, said Thursday night that her amendment proposal would not ban abortions in the state, and reasserted that the state's Abortion Control Act would remain in place. Other Republican members in the House and Senate echoed this throughout the day Friday, as lawmakers also worked to finalize the state’s $45.2 billion budget.
State Sen. Scott Martin, a Lancaster Republican, noted on the Senate floor Friday that Ms. Ward’s amendment was inspired by an ongoing court case in the state, where members of the state Supreme Court could potentially rule that abortion is a constitutional right in the state. This constitutional amendment, in turn, would put the Legislature and governor in control over whether abortion is legal in the state.
During the five-hour debate on the House floor Friday night, dozens of lawmakers debated the impact of these amendments. Republicans repeatedly emphasized that this amendment, if approved by the voters, would not ban abortions in the state. Democrats said the amendments would, separately, end a person’s bodily autonomy and disenfranchise voters — all of which would be felt most among people of color in the state.
“Yes, this amendment does not explicitly and immediately ban abortion,” conceded state Rep. Emily Kinkead, a Brighton Heights Democrat. “But it’s a pathway, and to say otherwise is a lie.”
But it should be a decision voters should have, said state Rep. Valerie Gaydos, a Moon Republican.
“This bill lets the voters, not politicians, decide on very important issues,” Gaydos said. “We are letting the people decide.”
The amendment would not outright ban abortions in Pennsylvania. Abortions will remain accessible to people in Pennsylvania up to 24 weeks of a pregnancy, per the state’s Abortion Control Act.
However, if Pennsylvania voters approved this constitutional amendment, it could pave the way for legislators to ban abortions, said state Sen. Judy Schwank, a Berks County Democrat, during the Senate debate Friday.
Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has vowed to veto any legislation that would change this during his remaining months in office.
Whoever becomes the next governor of Pennsylvania would get the veto pen. If the Legislature tried to upend the state laws protecting abortion access in the state — just as multiple states have done since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month — the next governor would decide whether those could become law.
Democratic gubernatorial nominee and Attorney General Josh Shapiro has promised to veto any legislation if he is elected in November. Republican gubernatorial nominee Sen. Doug Mastriano has supported strict abortion bans, hoping to ban abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.
Besides the abortion amendment proposal, the state Legislature approved four other potential amendments that could go before the voters as soon as May 2023:
—Require voters to provide a government ID to vote in the state.
—Require gubernatorial candidates to choose their own running mate for lieutenant governor, instead of running separately, as they do now.
—Require the state auditor general to audit elections.
—Require legislative approval when a governor seeks regulatory changes.
Democratic lawmakers also protested the voter ID provisions in the omnibus resolution passed Friday. State Sen. Sharif Street, a Philadelphia Democrat, said the state’s lowest income residents are the most likely not to have a government-issued ID, thus potentially disenfranchising poor voters.
However, Senate Republicans noted that ID is frequently needed in a person’s everyday life, and should not be a burden to voters to provide. The amendment also would allow voters to request a government-issued ID, free of charge.
“Identification and the need to provide it is one of the most common things we have to do in our society today,” said state Sen. Joe Pittman, an Indiana Republican, during Friday’s debate.
