Chesco State Lawmaker Protecting Women's Rights

HARRISBURG — The state House Judiciary Committee this week held a hearing on a bill sponsored by State Rep. Danielle F. Otten, a Chester County Democrat, to protect a woman’s right to abortion.

The hearing comes on the heels of a referendum approved by voters in Ohio this November, when Ohio became the seventh state where the people voted to protect reproductive rights by ballot initiative following the Supreme Court’s June 2022 ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.

In Pennsylvania, abortions are legal for up to 24 weeks. The law has not changed in Pennsylvania since the June 24, 2022 Supreme Court decision.

Otten and State Rep. Liz Hanbidge, a Montgomery County Democrat, propose a reproductive rights amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution to further protect women’s rights.

“Abortion is currently safe and legal in the Commonwealth, and as a mother to a young girl, I feel a responsibility to ensure that we protect and preserve that right," said Otten, who represents Uwchlan, Upper Uwchlan, East Brandywine, West Brandywine, Wallace, Downingtown Borough, and a portion of Caln Township.

"I do not want my daughter’s personal health or economic future to be at the mercy of a governor’s veto pen.”

The proposed legislation reaffirms every individual’s right to reproductive liberty concerning personal, sexual, and reproductive healthcare decisions, including the right to choose or refuse an abortion, the right to choose or refuse contraceptives, and the right to choose or refuse fertility care, without discrimination based on race, sex, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, or relationship status.

Otten said she and her colleagues are working to see the bill come to fruition.

In June 2022, Otten spoke at a rally in Phoenixville calling for abortion rights following the June 24 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Otten said during the rally that her sister got pregnant and was told there were complications.

“There was a choice for her and her family,” Otten said during the rally.