State Senator Amanda Cappelletti (D-Philadelphia) claimed as part of a Monday push to create a federal law to enshrine abortion access that 80 Pennsylvania abortion clinics have closed “in a relatively short period of time” since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Cappelletti made the remarks to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, and additionally claimed abortion access has fallen in the commonwealth since the landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“People need to understand that we went from having over 100 abortion clinics in Pennsylvania to less than 20 in a relatively short period of time,” Cappelletti told The Capital-Star. “So, while the access is legally there, practically speaking for so many Pennsylvanians, they don’t have access to abortion or reproductive health care in general.”
Cappelletti (pictured above), who is a former director of Policy for Planned Parenthood, additionally claimed Pennsylvania abortion clinics are seeing an uptick in people who travel from out of state to receive an abortion.
“We’re definitely seeing it here in the southeast, in the Philadelphia clinics,” the lawmaker told the outlet.
The Delaware County politician’s claims about the level of abortion access available to Pennsylvanians contradict the stance of the City of Philadelphia, which in November 2023 said, “Philadelphians have access to safe, legal abortion services.”
In the announcement, the city noted Pennsylvania did not have a “trigger law” to ban or restrict abortions after the 2022 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, and additionally revealed, “Philadelphia has resources for people who want to prevent unplanned pregnancies or need an abortion or counseling support.”
Public opinion polling by Pew Research Center suggests just over half of Pennsylvanians want abortions to be legal in all or most cases, while 44 percent would prefer to make it illegal in all or most cases.
The Democratic push for a federal abortion law comes as former President Donald Trump has confirmed he will respect the Supreme Court’s decision to return jurisdiction over abortion back to the states.
“Like Ronald Reagan, I am strongly in favor of exceptions for rape, incest and life of a mother,” said Trump in April.
The former president added, “You must follow your heart on this issue, but remember, you must also win elections to restore our culture, and in fact, to save our country, which is currently and very sadly, a nation in decline.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Senator Amanda Cappelletti” by Senator Amanda Cappelletti.
great news. what’s the dem party’s obsession with infanticide