Thread by @WomensLawProj

🚨🚨 Details & actions to take soon. This outrageous attack on our rights, against the will of the people, under cover of night, will not be tolerated

To be clear: Abortion is still legal in Pennsylvania. The legislation to eliminate our reproductive rights has a ways more to go before it could be implemented

Which means we have to stop it NOW.

PA SENATE LIVESTREAM:

Watch them try to eliminate our reproductive rights in Pennsylvania RIGHT NOW: pasen.gov/Video/SenateVi…

PENNSYLVANIA: Join @PPAdvocatesPA at noon in Harrisburg at the Capitol to oppose this outrageous attack on our reproductive rights

*under cover of night
*in an unrelated bill
*against the will of the people

.@SenCappelletti discussing how betrayed she feels by colleagues working to deprive her of the medicine she needed when she had miscarriages.

"This paves the way to be a death sentence for many people"

Sending support to you Sen. Cappelletti

"Everyone in this chamber has the resources to send themselves, a friend, a loved one, to a state where abortion is legal.

But our constituents who may not? You are signing away their lives bc of an ideology that belongs to one faith"

- @SenCappelletti

"What we are doing is anti-Semitic. We are saying to Jewish communities of the Commonwealth that we don't guarantee their right to practice their religion - at a time when they're facing an incredible uptick in attacks"

- @SenCappelletti

PENNSYLVANIANS outraged by this attempt to eliminate our reproductive rights in the middle of the night:

If you can, go to the Capitol at noon
Contact your House Rep. and urge them NO to #SB106 (the unrelated bill they stuffed w/ language to eliminate our rights)

"We just stood up and took the Pledge of Allegiance, stating equality and justice for all.

That is, unless you're pregnant"

- @carolyncomitta #ReproFreedomPA

If you're just tuning in: PA's anti-abortion lawmakers convened in the middle of the night to advance a bill to eliminate our reproductive rights, against the will of the people.

We won't let you hide. It happened in this Committee, led by Sen. Kim Ward: legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/cteeInf…

Once again anti-abortion lawmakers fundamentally misunderstand - and misrepresent - the role of the courts.

The courts are a CHECK on legislative OVER-REACH to PROTECT OUR RIGHTS.

They are abusing our state constitution to oppress us

The Philadelphia Bar on our Legislature's power-grab abuse of the constitutional amendment process:

"this process increases the General Assembly’s role and upsets the carefully calibrated balance of power among the three co-equal branches of government" philadelphiabar.org/?pg=ResMarch22…

An anti-abortion lawmaker just rose to oppose Sen. Muth's assertion that abortion is healthcare as offensive & inflammatory 🙄🙄

We find lawmakers legislating our bodies without even knowing proper medical terms offensive.

What's happening in PA is undemocratic and unpatriotic.

"Reproductive rights don’t exist in a vacuum: They are inextricably linked to democratic institutions, with threats to one reinforcing threats to the other" fullerproject.org/story/where-de…

What's happening right now in PA - a midnight raid to eliminate our reproductive rights - is an attack on our right to privacy, an attack on democracy, and a vile effort to make women & all birthing people second-class citizens

NO to #SB956 & #SB106

Sen. Phillips-Hall is spreading false propaganda about #SB106:

Do not be misled by the same people who met in the middle of the night to eliminate our rights:

#SB106/#SB956 paves the way to ban abortion in PA

Explainer:

Anti-ab lawmakers emphasize #SB106/#SB956 won't, by itself, *change the law* to obscure that it's an amendment that would *eliminate our state constitutional rights* so they CAN pass a law to ban abortion

"This legislation is compulsory birth legislation. The state mandating that birth must happen ... compulsory birth is now what's being proposed in Pennsylvania" #SB106

- @SenatorHaywood

Sen. Judy Ward, architect of the effort to ban abortion in PA, just dutifully misrepresented both the purpose of #SB106 - to ban abortion in PA - and the role of state courts - to protect US from THEIR OVERREACH

🧐🧐Watch for the propaganda phrase accusing the judicial branch of "legislating from the bench" from people in the Legislative branch - 1 of 3 branches - actively working to eliminate checks and balances from the other two - courts & executive office

🤔 the bill now stuffed with language to eliminate our reproductive rights - #SB106 - ALSO restricts voting - while they claim they are "leaving the issue to voters"

*whispers* also some PA lawmakers worked to make our votes note count in 2020

*NOT count 🙃

In case you need translation.

In propaganda speak, courts "creating a new right" means "courts doing their job as 1 of 3 branches of gov by applying judicial scrutiny to legislative and executive initiatives to ensure our rights are protected as intended by the constitution"

Sen. Kim Ward dutifully pushing misleading talking points on #SB106 - including the absurd notion that these midnight raiders are merely giving voters a chance to chime in on keeping rights we ALREADY HAVE by way of a provision put in... a voter suppression bill

The PA Senate just voted to advance #SB106, which contains provisions to eliminate reproductive rights & suppress voting, by 28-22

It heads to the House next. Detailed post & action steps coming in a few mins.

Details and action steps! Remember, the new bill to eliminate reproductive rights & privacy in PA is #SB106!

womenslawproject.org/2022/07/08/urg…

Action 1 - Anti-abortion constitutional amendment #SB106 will head to the PA House next.

Contact your PA Rep. and urge them to vote NO on #SB106.

Urge @GovernorTomWolf to take action! We have always appreciated the Governor's stance & veto - but now we urge Gov. Wolf to consider an Executive Order - examples from other states in post womenslawproject.org/2022/07/08/urg…

Contact members of the majority party of the PA Senate Rules Committee, who engineered this midnight raid on our rights, and let them know how you feel about it
legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/cteeInf…

THEY'RE BACK.

Anti-abortion constitutional amendment, now inserted into #SB106, is now being debated in the PA House.

LIVESTREAM HERE: house.state.pa.us/Video/HouseVid…

"Make no mistake, this legislation paves the way for extreme abortion bans... they know Pennsylvanians don't support this, which is why they did it in the middle of the night & keep changing the language" #SB106

- @RepDanFrankel

Rep. Oberlander explains how they strategically wrapped the anti-abortion constitutional amendment into an omnibus bill that contains other initiatives "important to people in this chamber"

Rep. Oberlander:

*claimed there's litigation challenging a 2013 law - FALSE
*asserted #SB106 would "simply protect the status quo" - FALSE
*discussed "elective abortion" as if that means anything medically - IT DOES NOT

Almost comical, the absurd idea that you need to scheme under dark of night to advance legislation that "simply protects the status quo."

PSA: Pennsylvanians are not stupid.

Rep. Gleim just pushed the "we're just leaving abortion to the voters" talking point.

*SB106 also contains voter suppression legislation.
*Most Pennsylvanians support legal abortion.
*The voters elected a Governor that vetoes extreme abortion bans - hence this workaround

Rep. Kail doesn't want the state courts to "determine our jobs."

It is the judicial branch's job to check legislative over-reach.

These anti-abortion lawmakers are openly hostile to the idea of checks and balances - so they're scheming a power grab to eliminate those checks.

[The function of the anti-abortion constitutional amendment is to eliminate our state constitutional rights & eliminate state courts as a venue to challenge legislative over-reach related to pregnancy] #SB106

Rep. Gaydos, also sponsor of the anti-trans kids bill, dutifully pushing the talking points that anti-abortion constitutional amendment won't change abortion law 🤔 and the "the voters" one🙄

"As a Black woman, I've seen this coming. Because year after year I sat in this building as we chipped away & chipped away at the right of Black & brown folks & other people throughout this Commonwealth." #SB106

- @RepDonnaBullock

Rep. Klunk pushing propaganda emphasizing the constitutional amendment automatically won't ban abortion.

Right. It's worse. The amendment would eliminate our state constitutional rights, so they CAN ban abortion ... w/o our pesky rights in the way.

Rep. Klunk inexplicably asserts that when she was pregnant she was not a person, she was a woman

[Women are people]

"We are setting up a path for women in Pennsylvania to die." - @RepKinkead #SB106

Rep. Bradford asks if any supporter of anti-abortion constitutional amendment will stand for interrogation (term for asking a question).

No one would.

"Not a single one with the courage to defend this atrocity!"

They cut his microphone off. #SB106

Rep. McClinton: "He was speaking the facts. Not one person will stand up to defend SB106 this Friday night."

Rep. Cutler just gave a lecture about "proper restraint" and no "antagonism against a branch of government"

Anti-ab lawmakers have bashed the courts non-stop.

This is wild. So far not one supporter of the anti-abortion amendment that was pushed through in the middle of the night will rise to answer a question about it in the light of day. #SB106

"If this [anti-abortion] amendment would pass, could this body, could this majority leader, pass leg to ban abortion... at 8 weeks? The answer is most definitely yes."

Correct. Thank you @RepBradford

"When you can't stand to defend yourselves, god, it's so obvious what you're doing.

You want to ban abortion. That's your right. What you need to do is have the intellectual honesty & integrity to answer questions."

- @RepBradford

"You have the right to ban abortion if - IF that right is not secured under the state constitution."

We believe the PA state constitution protects repro rights.

So do they. That's why they're trying to eliminate our state rights - our rights are in the way of their mission.

The supporters of the anti-abortion constitutional amendment refuse to answer questions about it & will not deviate from talking points designed to obscure & mislead. #SB106

Rep. Keefer asserts it's "ironic" that she would have to "get a shot" to have an organ transplant.

She's also talking about "elected abortions" and "women in the womb."

Rep. Kauffman, who you may remember for refusing to support a bill to address sexual harassment in the Capitol, pushing same TPs.

Reality: SB106 doesn't technically ban abortion. It eliminates our state rights so they CAN ban abortion.

As a reminder, Sen. Judy Ward, initial prime sponsor of the anti-ab amendment, also sponsors a 6-week abortion ban.

We're not reading a crystal ball to divine their intention to ban abortion in PA. We're reading their bills. #SB106

Another provision in #SB106 is voter ID.

Thinking back to 2012, when a PA politician accidentally admitted the purpose of Voter ID was to allow Republicans to win politicspa.com/turzai-voter-i…

Last night, the PA House passed the anti-abortion amendment 107-92.

It has to pass next session before it goes to the ballot.

They have the votes, but we all made it hard for them. We can do even better next session. Stay engaged, we can stop this!