Series: Pennsylvania Poised to Find Constitutional Right to Abortion?
In Allegheny Reproductive Health v. Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of ban on Medicaid-funded abortion and announced that the ban must survive heightened scrutiny to remain in place. In so doing, the court undid a 40-year precedent upholding the state’s ban on using Medicaid dollars to fund abortions. Two justices indicated they would find a right to abortion in the state constitution even at this stage of the case, but it remains to be seen whether their colleagues will join them should the case return to the court.
Will the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Recognize a Right to Abortion?
Two justices say there is a constitutional right to abortion, but it’s not clear the full court will consider the question.
By Bruce Ledewitz, the Adrian Van Kaam C.S.Sp. Endowed Chair in Scholarly Excellence at Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Ruling Overturns Decades-Old Precedent in Abortion Ruling
The high court issued a resounding win for abortion clinics challenging a ban on using Medicaid funding for the procedure.
By David S. Cohen, professor at Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law. He served as counsel for the plaintiff abortion clinics in Allegheny Reproductive Health Center v. Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
State Equal Rights Amendments Can Protect Reproductive Rights Post-Dobbs
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that a Medicaid ban on abortion is sex discrimination under the state’s ERA.
By Ting Ting Cheng, the Director of the ERA Project at Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law.
