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Abortion war heating up

As anti-abortion activists launch new efforts and celebrate victories in red states, Pennsylvania appears to be on the cusp of a fresh abortion battle.

The anti-abortion movement, spearheaded by Republican lawmakers, has seen a wave of legislative wins after years with little success. In recent weeks, state legislatures across the country have passed severe restrictions on the procedure, in some cases all but banning them.

Georgia’s governor signed a so-called “heartbeat bill” into last week, banning abortions after six weeks. The decision drew immediate criticism, with film directors and producers vowing to boycott the state’s popular shooting locations.

The movement is gaining ground elsewhere, despite tough opposition: In Alabama, a Senate vote on a near-complete abortion ban was pushed to this week after arguments broke out in the capitol. In Ohio, conservative politicians are pressing controversial bills, including one that would effectively ban private insurers from covering abortions.

The push relies on deep-red legislatures, friendly governors and a wave of conservative judicial nominations under President Donald Trump. Some supporters have openly said they hope to take legal challenges to the Supreme Court, where they might win the elimination of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that enshrined abortion rights.

Pennsylvania isn’t good ground for the anti-abortion activists’ legal battles. Although Republicans control the state Legislature, Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed past efforts to restrict abortion rights.

That hasn’t stopped Pennsylvania’s pro-choice and pro-life advocates from joining a bitter culture war, however.

State Rep. Brian Sims, D-Philadelphia, drew attacks from conservative and religious figures last week after he filmed anti-abortion protesters picketing a Philadelphia clinic. Sims filmed a group of the protesters and called on abortion rights supporters to identify them, asking one: “What makes you think it’s your job to tell women what’s right for their bodies?”

The incident led to attacks by anti-abortion figures, condemnation by Roman Catholic Church leaders and an anti-abortion rally that drew hundreds to the clinic.

With their allies emboldened, some state lawmakers are reviving long-shot efforts to restrict abortion rights or change their legal definitions in Pennsylvania.

A bill by Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren, that passed the House this month would require doctors to tell pregnant women about perinatal hospice care — a hospice for newborns with terminal illnesses. If it passed, the bill would punish medical providers who don’t tell women with terminally ill fetuses about the option.

Democrats expressed concerns about the bill’s definition of abortion, which some said could include birth control, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported. Local House Republicans and Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria, all backed the bill.

Another effort — to effectively ban the abortion of any fetus with Down syndrome — passed through a House committee this month and could soon receive a floor vote. Cosponsored by several local Republicans, the bill would ban abortions of a fetus with the diagnosis, except in cases of rape, incest or danger to the mother’s life.

Even more restrictive bills could be waiting in the wings. A “heartbeat bill” proposal by Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, R-Lock Haven, hasn’t yet been submitted, but Borowicz began circulating memos in February seeking support for one.

The proposal, similar to those in Georgia and Alabama, would ban abortions at the point a fetal heartbeat is detected — usually just a few weeks into a pregnancy.

“States all over the country are looking at abortion. … This legislation will be another great rallying cry for us to save babies around this state and possibly around the nation,” Borowicz wrote to colleagues.

Flood tax could benefit Act 47 towns

If Sen. Wayne Langerholc, R-Cambria succeeds, some money from the 83-year-old Johnstown Flood tax could go to … Johnstown.

Langerholc reintroduced a bill this week — similar to an effort that fizzled in a past session — to redirect some money from the so-called Johnstown Flood Tax to cities in the Act 47 recovery program.

The 18 percent alcohol tax has long served as fodder for politicians’ jokes, having been passed at a lower rate in 1936 to help Johnstown recover from a devastating flood. In the decades since, the money has gone into the state’s general fund and no longer covers disaster relief.

Under Langerholc’s proposal, a small portion of the tax money — 5.6 percent of the proceeds — would be given to Act 47 cities in the form of grants. While Altoona left the recovery program in 2017, many municipalities, including Johnstown and Franklin Borough in Cambria County, still operate under it.

Langerholc said the bill could raise $20 million for the cities, far more than the amount currently available through the Department of Community and Economic Development.

Past efforts to pass the bill, as well as other lawmakers’ efforts to repeal the tax entirely, have gone unfinished.

Ryan Brown can be reached at rbrown@altoonamirror.com.

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