PA Gov. Tom Wolf Vows to Veto Dismemberment Abortions Ban: ‘Attack on Women’

Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Wolf speaks with members of the media
AP/Matt Rourke
Dr. Susan Berry

Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf says he will veto a measure that would ban dismemberment abortions in which an unborn baby is torn limb from limb prior to removal from the uterus.

Senate Bill 3 has already passed the state House and the state Senate. It would prohibit abortions on demand in the Keystone State past the 20-week mark, or fifth month of pregnancy, instead of the current 24 weeks. The bill contains an exception to prevent the death of the mother. The measure particularly would ban dismemberment abortions, which the abortion industry claims is one of the “safest” abortion procedures.

Last week, Wolf denounced the bill as “the most extreme anti-choice legislation in the country” and “an attack on women.”

In a medical animation video provided by pro-life organization Live Action, former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino demonstrates a second-trimester D&E abortion during which the abortionist uses instruments to remove the limbs from an unborn baby, between 13 to 24 weeks into a pregnancy, prior to extraction from the uterus:

“Once again, Harrisburg Republicans are moving the most extreme anti-choice legislation in the country that criminalizes abortion and leaves no exceptions for victims of rape or incest,” Wolf said in a statement. “I have met with women and medical professionals and understand how devastating and dangerous this bill would be for patients. That’s why I will veto this attack on women. Put simply, women’s health care decisions should be left up to women and their doctors, not politicians in Harrisburg.”

Randi Teplitz, chairwoman of the Pennsylvania Commission for Women, urged the state General Assembly to reject the ban on dismemberment abortions.

“As our commonwealth faces many challenges, it is disheartening to see that our Pennsylvania General Assembly — which is comprised 80 percent of males — has chosen to focus its efforts on passing one of the most restrictive, and likely unconstitutional, anti-choice laws in the nation,” Teplitz said.

“This bill moved out of committee without transparency — there were no public hearings conducted on its merits,” she continued. “The Pennsylvania Commission for Women believes that any changes to abortion laws that impact women to this degree should not occur without a robust discussion that includes input from the health care community as well as the public, particularly Pennsylvania women.”

The Pennsylvania affiliate of Planned Parenthood is denouncing the legislation.

The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation (PA Pro-Life Fed) is a major supporter of the measure.

“Every day in the United States abortion centers are mutilating bodies in barbaric and horrific dismemberment abortions, a procedure in which a pre-born baby is torn from the mother’s womb limb by limb,” wrote Matthew Wagner at PA Pro-Life Fed. “Significant evidence exists to believe that, in many of these abortions, the abortion center is harvesting aborted baby body parts and selling them.”

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a formal investigation into Planned Parenthood – the nation’s largest abortion provider – over its alleged sale of the body parts of babies aborted in its clinics for a profit.

 

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