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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | September 22, 2022 02:22 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Elizabeth Fiedler and Rep. Dan Frankel, Rep. Emily Kinkead, Rep. Danielle Friel Otten, Rep. Carol Hill-Evans, Rep. Christopher M. Rabb |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Expanding the types of healthcare professionals who can provide abortion care |
| Abortion is healthcare and healthcare is a human right. Therefore, people should not be prevented from receiving abortion services due to a lack of providers. At a time when reproductive freedom is under attack, we must do everything we can to reduce barriers to abortion care here in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania has only 17 freestanding abortion clinics, and 87 percent of our counties do not have a single healthcare clinic that provides abortion care. Bans in neighboring states have forced patients to travel to get abortion care, making it more difficult than ever for our healthcare providers to meet the demand. Challenges that interfere with obtaining abortion care do not affect all patients equally. People of color, victims of abuse and individuals living in poverty are the most likely to find these obstacles unsurmountable. To ensure that every birthing person can get the health care they need, we will soon introduce legislation that will allow registered nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, and physician assistants to perform medication and aspiration abortions. The legislation will also remove language stating abortions can only be performed if a physician determines it is medically necessary and replace it with language stating the decision to have an abortion is the sole decision of the patient. Nineteen other states and the District of Columbia already allow non-physicians to perform abortions, and several others have similar legislation pending. The World Health Organization, the American Public Health Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists all support expansions of who can provide abortions. The University of California at San Francisco concluded after a 6-year study that first-trimester abortions are equally safe whether performed by a doctor, a nurse practitioner, a midwife or a physician’s assistant. Please join us in co-sponsoring this effort to make certain that every birthing person can obtain the abortion services they need. |
Introduced as HB2847