PA Officials From Montgomery County React To SCOTUS Overturning Roe v. Wade

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Elected officials from Montgomery County are beginning to speak out after the United States Supreme Court overturned the 50-year-old Roe v. Wade decision that had constitutionally guaranteed a right to an abortion.

Officials began to put out statements early Friday afternoon after the highest court in the land returned the abortion issue to respective states' legislatures, ruling that abortion should never have been a federally protected right under the U.S. Constitution.

"It's a dark time in our nation as the current activist Supreme Court decided to abandon 50 years of established precedent and rescind Americans' reproductive rights, and more broadly, our rights to bodily autonomy," State Rep. Ben Sanchez, a Democrat from Abington Township who represents the 153rd House District, said in a released statement.

Sanchez stated that the move is a "clear violation of the Constitution's 14th amendment, guaranteeing citizens the rights to bodily integrity and to make our own individual decisions on childbearing and personal health."

"As nearby states soon begin swiftly banning abortions, my fellow pro-choice legislators and I will do all that we can to protect one's right to choose," Sanchez stated.

State Sen. Maria Collett, a Montgomery County Democrat representing the 12th Senatorial District, and also a Registered Nurse by trade, put out a statement condemning the Supreme Court's decision.

"After nearly 50 years of legal precedent, we are seeing nothing less than a rollback of our fundamental rights to bodily autonomy," Collett said in a statement. "Make no mistake, today's decision is not about protecting children, it is about controlling and subjugating women. Overturning Roe will most deeply affect those who already [are] vulnerable, adding unnecessary and insurmountable hurdles that will put them and keep them in poverty.

"We know that abortions provided under unsafe conditions and by untrained providers lead to high rates of maternal mortality," Collett continued. "And we know that children born into families that are ill-equipped and unprepared to care for them are more likely to be victims of extreme poverty, neglect and abuse."

Collett said that while the left side of the political spectrum is mostly reeling from Friday's decision, she fears the court's decision has the potential to impact other rights, such as the right to refuse vaccinations and the right to home-school children.

Collett also warned that Pennsylvania lawmakers may already be looking to ban abortion, and not necessarily through a legislative vote; she said there is a proposal floating around to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to specifically state that there is no right to an abortion.

"They are chomping at the bit to enact a total ban on abortions in Pennsylvania, callously disregarding the fact that more than 53 percent of Pennsylvanians support at least some abortion rights," Collett stated.

State Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, a Democrat representing Montgomery County's 17th Senate District, called the Supreme Court's ruling a "devastating attack on equity and equality."

"It is a decision that will impact millions of women and child-bearing individuals across the country," Cappelletti said in a statement. "We are not second-class citizens. Roe v. Wade has been the law of the land for over 50 years — entire generations have grown up believing they have bodily autonomy. And with a single ruling, Supreme Court stripped the human rights of millions to access the health care they deserve."

Val Arkoosh, one of Montgomery County's three elected commissioners, tweeted: "Roe is overturned but let's be 100% clear abortion care won't end. Instead access will become even more inequitable and dangerous. We must fight state by state to ensure this decision remains between a pregnant person and their doctor."

While many Montgomery County officials and other officials from the southeastern Pennsylvania region decried the Supreme Court's decision, others across the commonwealth said they support the court's decision.

"Today's Supreme Court ruling reestablishes the authority of states to regulate abortion. The ruling once again makes clear it is the authority of individual states to establish laws that are in the best interest of their residents," reads a joint statement from Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, and House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre/Mifflin.

The two continued: "It is important to point out Pennsylvania's Abortion Control Act remains in effect, and places firm restrictions on abortions in our Commonwealth including a ban on all late-term abortion procedures. This ruling presents a necessary opportunity to examine our existing abortion law, and discussions around possible changes are already underway."

Meanwhile, other officials across the Keystone State have been reacting to the landmark overturning of Roe v. Wade.

More reactions can be seen in the links below.

Related: PA Leaders React To Roe v. Wade Being Overturned

Related: Josh Shapiro Speaks Out After U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade