Thousands of anti-abortion advocates gathered at the foot of the Capitol building Monday for the annual Pennsylvania March for Life Rally, urging lawmakers to further restrict — or outright ban — abortion access in the commonwealth.
Hosted by the conservative Pennsylvania Family Institute, the event opened with “Pre-Rally Praise & Worship” at 10 a.m. A slate of speakers then took the stage at 11 a.m., before the march around the Capitol Complex began at noon.
Speakers included several Republican lawmakers, including House GOP Leader Jesse Topper of Bedford County, Sen. Judy Ward of Blair County and Rep. Kathy Rapp of Warren County.
Abortion is legal in Pennsylvania up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. And the law provides exceptions to that limit for pregnant women who obtain certification from two physicians saying the abortion is necessary to prevent death or substantial harm.
Any change to Pennsylvania’s law is unlikely any time soon.
House Democrats have said they would not advance any legislation to restrict abortion access in Pennsylvania. Even if a proposal cleared the General Assembly, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has repeatedly said he would use his veto power to defend access to abortion.
After the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022, removing federal protections for abortion access, Pennsylvania Republicans advanced an unsuccessful amendment to the state Constitution stating “no constitutional right to taxpayer-funded abortion or other right relating to abortion.”