Maybe you’ve already heard what Massachusetts did this summer. If you haven’t, allow me to bring it to your attention, because I think every pro-life Pennsylvanian needs to see it before November 3rd.

On August 10th, Governor Maura Healey signed a law that throws out Massachusetts’ old rules for abortion at 24 weeks and beyond. Before, an abortion that late was only allowed in a short list of situations, like saving the mother’s life or certain severe diagnoses. Now the law just says an abortion “may be performed by a physician based upon the professional judgment of the physician.” That’s the whole standard. Boston.com reported it makes Massachusetts one of the few states with no gestational limit on abortion at all.

And here’s what stopped me cold. The law doesn’t take effect until 90 days after she signed it. That lands right around November 8th, five days after Pennsylvania goes to the polls.

She’s right about that, and it’s every bit as true here as it is up there.

So what’s standing between Pennsylvania and Massachusetts?

Honestly, not much. Let me show you the numbers, because they’re tight.

That Senate number is the one I lose sleep over. In Pennsylvania, a constitutional amendment never goes to the governor’s desk. It has to pass both chambers in two back-to-back sessions, and then it goes straight to the voters. The Senate is where it’s stalled. And according to Spotlight PA, if Democrats pick up just two Senate seats and hold the governor’s office, the lieutenant governor’s tie-breaking vote would hand them the Senate’s rules and its voting calendar.

Meanwhile, look at what’s already happening. Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program has been paying for abortions since July 16th, after Commonwealth Court struck down the state’s ban on taxpayer-funded abortion. Governor Shapiro’s administration wouldn’t defend that ban, so Attorney General Dave Sunday stepped in and appealed it to the state Supreme Court, where briefs are due October 30th. And on September 29th, the Shapiro administration announced it had hosted a roundtable with Planned Parenthood and other abortion groups, and said it’s put about $343,000 in state security grant money into Planned Parenthood facilities.

Shapiro has also promised to veto further limits on abortion. So when you hear people say the legislature is the last line of defense for the unborn in this state, that’s not a slogan. It’s just the math.

That’s why we’re working so hard to reach pro-life Pennsylvanians before November 3rd, and I’d love your help. Will you chip in today to help us mobilize the pro-life vote?

Can’t see the button? Chip in to help mobilize the pro-life vote.

Massachusetts has made its choice. Pennsylvania hasn’t made ours yet, and I don’t want any of us waking up on November 4th wishing we’d done more.

For Life,
Lydia Dorr
Right to Life Pennsylvania

P.S. Five days. That’s the gap between Pennsylvania’s election on November 3rd and Massachusetts’ new abortion law taking effect around November 8th, and our state Senate is just two seats from a tie that could hand it to the other side. Please help us reach pro-life voters before then.