Pa. AG Josh Shapiro says his office will protect abortion providers, out-of-state patients from prosecution

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro vowed Thursday to protect the state’s abortion clinics and patients seeking abortions in Pennsylvania, which is seeing an increase in out-of-state patients following the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe V. Wade.

During a stop at a Pittsburgh abortion clinic, Shapiro called the Supreme Court’s decision “shameful” and said it was the first time in decades that Americans are seeing their rights stripped away.

“As long as I serve, the doors to clinics like these will remain open,” said Shapiro, a Democrat from Montgomery County who is also running for governor.

Overturning Roe has led to less abortion access in neighboring states like Ohio and West Virginia, which are in the process of enacting abortion bans. Correspondingly, abortion clinics in Pittsburgh have seen increases in calls and patients from out-of-state. Abortions before 24 weeks of pregnancy remain legal in Pennsylvania.

Shapiro said that West Virginia’s only abortion clinic closed down out of fear of prosecution from authorities, and during his stop he also spoke about a 10-year-old rape victim in Ohio who traveled to Indiana to get an abortion.

He said the nearby states of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia have left 3.9 million women of child-bearing age without access to abortions.

Dr. Sheila Ramgopal is the director of Allegheny Reproductive Health Care in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty, one of the oldest independent abortion providers in the United States. She said the facility has seen a 1000% increase in calls from people seeking abortions following the court decision, which has led to longer response times from clinic staff.

“People calling from all over, from Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, are just so scared,” said Ramgopal, who added that out-of-state patients used to make up about 30% of the clinic’s abortions, but that has increased to 60% to 70% since Roe was overturned.

A Franklin & Marshall poll from last October said only 11% of Pennsylvanians want abortion to be illegal in all circumstances, while 36% said it should always be legal and 51% said it should be legal under certain circumstances.

Shapiro said his office has not received any cases related to prosecution of abortion clinics or patients, but said his office’s pledge should act as a “warning shot” to any prosecutors looking to go after Pennsylvania clinics or people seeking abortions in the state.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday said he would refuse requests from other states to arrest out-of-state residents who travel to Pennsylvania seeking abortions, as well as anyone providing or assisting with an abortion.

Shapiro said he would be enforcing Wolf’s orders, as well as enforcing the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which bans physical attacks on clinic staff, blockades in front of clinics and violent threats made against providers or patients.

“We are making it clear that if any other state tries to reach into Pennsylvania and impact a provider here, that we will protect them,” he said.

Shapiro said his office has set up a hotline for any providers or patients to call at 717-705-6938. He said people also can submit requests on the state Attorney General’s Office website.

This is contrary to how some Republican attorneys general have acted after Roe was overturned. Indiana’s attorney general said this week that he plans to investigate the Indiana doctor who helped the 10-year-old Ohio girl who crossed the state line to receive an abortion.