Pennsylvania Senate passes controversial bill that bans abortions after 20 weeks
The bill will not make any exceptions for rape or incest.
On Wednesday, the state senate passed a controversial bill titled “Senate Bill 3” that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, compared to 24 weeks with the state’s current Abortion Control Act, according to BillyPenn.
The new bill will only make exceptions for medical emergencies, and not for situations involving rape or incest.
The ban would also make the “dilation and evacuation” medical technique illegal, despite it being the safest method for an abortion during the second trimester. This process is referred to as “dismemberment abortion” in the bill. According to 6abc, doctors could face up to seven years in prison if they were to do the procedure.
The news comes just three weeks after the Women’s March on Philadelphia, where many people showed support for abortion rights, including students from Temple University and other surrounding Philadelphia schools.
State Senator Lisa Baker, a Republican from Northeast Pennsylvania, criticized the fact that the bill would pass so quickly without a public hearing from the medical community.
“If this bill cannot withstand an open round of debate involving the medical community… what do we really have here?,” she said.
Baker also told an emotional story about having to deliver a stillborn daughter, but despite her efforts, the abortion bill passed with a vote of 32-18, and will proceed to the House.