PA Abortion Access Website Sparks Legal Concerns From Senator

PENNSYLVANIA - A new website providing information about how to access and pay for abortion care in Pennsylvania has drawn concerns in Harrisburg, with at least one Pennsylvania senator questioning the website’s legality.

The website, “Accessing Abortion Care In Pennsylvania,” was launched Monday in response to a Texas ruling that would ban a drug used in the most common method of abortion in the U.S. The site also includes an interactive map to find nearby abortion care providers.

“Your rights and freedoms here in Pennsylvania have not changed — you can get a safe, legal medication abortion using mifepristone in our Commonwealth,” said Governor Shapiro in a statement announcing the website. “Let’s be clear: this Texas judge’s attempt to restrict access to medication abortions is just another attack on a woman’s right to choose. This is about protecting our freedoms, and I won’t back down from that fight.”

But during a state budget hearing on Friday, Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-York County, said she isn’t convinced the website is in accordance with the state’s Abortion Control Act, which bars public monies from funding abortion-related health care.

“There are concerns whether this is a legal expenditure of dollars under state and federal law,” Phillips-Hill said during a question and answer session of the budget hearing.

“In a statement, the government said that ‘reproductive health care decisions should be made by women, not extremist politicians,’” she said, quoting the website announcement from Gov. Josh Shapiro. “I would contend that if that is the case, utilizing taxpayer dollars by any politicians for a marquee website for abortion is probably not appropriate.”

Today, we’re launching a new Commonwealth website to provide resources to women seeking abortion care.

I want to be clear:

Reproductive health care decisions should be made by women — not extremist politicians or radical court rulings.

Find facts: https://t.co/CuYBMHWbCk
— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) April 10, 2023

In a response to Phillips-Hill’s question of where the website funding came from, State Budget Secretary Uri Monson said that the website was created through the PA Office of Digital Content, which typically creates digital resources when in-state and out-of-state issues prompt concerns from constituents who wish to know how they will be affected.

Monson added that the court decision in Texas that led to an influx in constituents' questions regarding what resources are available in Pennsylvania.

“A large majority of folks use the internet [and] social media to access information,” Monson said. “When there was a train derailment in Ohio, we set up a website to provide emergency information … [as well as] when there was potential water contamination in Philadelphia.”

“I think part of our job is being responsive to constituents” and making information available to them, Monson added.

In response to Phillips-Hill’s question regarding how much was spent to ensure that the Accessing Abortion Care In Pennsylvania website reached the top of the homepage of Google, Monson responded with: ““I don’t know. I’d have to get back to you on that one.”

Monson was also unable to state whether "pregnancy resource centers" - such as Real Alternatives, an anti-choice crisis pregnancy center - are listed on the website.

“If you’re going to give people options, you should provide the whole range of options,” Phillips-Hill concluded.

You can watch a clip from the Q&A session with Phillips-Hill below: