Pennsylvania’s restrictive abortion laws effectively turn health care providers into traveling agents, advocates say. These laws limit abortions to doctors and exclude other qualified medical professionals. They also cause delays in service due to the influx of women from states with stricter restrictions.
Kelly Nichols, deputy medical director of Planned Parenthood of Delaware, shared her personal challenges, explaining, “In order to provide this care, I actually drive an hour round trip across the state line to Delaware every day.” Delaware changed its laws in 2022 to allow medical professionals other than doctors to perform abortions.
These restrictions not only impact the availability of services, but also discourage medical professionals from pursuing their careers in Pennsylvania, exacerbating the state’s workforce problems. The Guttmacher Institute points out that one in four women will have an abortion during their lifetime for a variety of reasons, underscoring the importance of the procedure in women’s health care.
Midwife Katrina Lipinsky emphasized how safe abortions are. She pointed out that the maternal mortality rate in Pennsylvania is 83 per 100,000 live births, and for black women it is even higher, at 148 per 100,000. In comparison, the risk of death from an abortion is only 0.45 per 100,000. “An abortion is much safer than continuing a pregnancy and giving birth to the baby on the due date,” she explained.
During a hearing before the House Democratic Policy Committee, Lipinsky argued against the requirement that only doctors perform abortions, citing legal violations that prevented her from performing abortions even though she is qualified to assist in the treatment of early miscarriages using similar procedures and medications.
The ongoing debate extends to the scope of care that certified nurse practitioners are allowed to provide, which has traditionally excluded abortion services. This is a concern among physicians, although in the past it has not directly targeted abortion services.
Current Pennsylvania law prohibits abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy and requires conditions such as parental consent for minors and a 24-hour waiting period. These policies disproportionately affect minors in foster care or without stable parents. Chris Castro, a senior staff attorney with the Women’s Law Project, criticized the waiting period as unnecessary for most young people, who typically involve a parent in their decision regardless of state regulations.
In addition, abortion is clearly regulated in the penal code, a rare classification for medical procedures. This classification prevents doctors from performing abortions and pharmacies from stocking necessary medications.
Abortion opponents, including groups such as the Christian Medical and Dental Association and the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, argue that abortions increase the risk of premature birth in future pregnancies and the development of breast cancer. They claim that the majority of gynecologists who do not perform abortions do so out of moral considerations rather than political motives.
As debates continue, medical professionals and advocacy groups are pushing for a reassessment of the laws to improve health care access and safety for women across Pennsylvania.
