Current Pennsylvania law says no government funds, like Medicaid, can pay for an abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or if the mother’s life is in danger. Now, the case will go to trial again at the Commonwealth Court, where it will require courts to reexamine if government insurance should cover all abortions. “We know it has never been acceptable to deny Pennsylvanians access to life affirming and essential healthcare. And that is no longer defensible," said Signe Espinoza, executive director of Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates. "And I think...

The Commonwealth Court had previously dismissed the lawsuit in 2021 on the grounds that it was bound by Pennsylvania Supreme Court precedent; the state Supreme Court had previously upheld the abortion restrictions in 1985. The majority ruling this week found that Pennsylvania’s law barring public funds for most abortions “discriminates against those women who choose to exercise their fundamental right to terminate a pregnancy” and that abortion providers have standing to sue the state over the policy. The ruling does not immediately change abortion policy in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania’s supreme court ruled on Monday that a lower court must hear a case challenging a ban on the use of government-funded healthcare to pay for abortions, raising hopes among reproductive rights advocates for an expansion of abortion access in the state and the establishment of a constitutional right to the procedure. The case, brought by abortion providers in the state, challenged a decades-old state law barring Medicaid from covering abortions, arguing that it should be overturned because it violates the broader rights guaranteed by the state constitution’s Equal Rights...

A new ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court could massively change abortion law in the state. The Pennsylvania state Supreme Court ruled Monday that a 40-year-old law banning Medicaid from covering abortions could be considered discriminatory based on sex, and sent the case back to a lower court, setting up a battle to establish financial coverage for the procedure. The case stems from the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act of 1982, which prohibits Medicaid from covering abortions unless the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, or it puts the...

Abortion-rights advocates on Monday applauded a Pennsylvania Supreme Court reproductive rights decision as a step in removing barriers to abortion access in the state, while opponents held fast to their position that many taxpayers oppose any public funding for abortions. The 3-2 decision, on a case involving Medicaid funding for abortion, was the first in Pennsylvania since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022 to address whether reproductive rights are protected under the state constitution, a position several justices indicated they could support.

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court said Monday that a lower court must hear a challenge to the constitutionality of a decades-old state law that limits the use of Medicaid dollars to cover the cost of abortions. The 3-2 decision both overturns a lower court decision to dismiss the case and puts aside a 1985 state Supreme Court court decision that upheld a law banning the use of state Medicaid dollars for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. The high court’s majority said Monday...

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a decision Monday in a challenge to the state ban on publicly funded abortions, finding that “the right to reproductive autonomy, like other privacy rights, is fundamental.” The ruling overturns a 1985 decision that upheld the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act’s ban on Medicaid-funded abortions except in cases of rape or incest. The case was the subject of intense focus during last November’s election to fill a vacant seat on the state high court, with reproductive rights advocates pushing to solidify Democrats’ majority. In a complex...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania's Supreme Court said Monday that a lower court must hear a challenge to the constitutionality of a decades-old state law that limits the use of Medicaid dollars to cover the cost of abortions. The 3-2 decision both overturns a lower court decision to dismiss the case and puts aside a 1985 state Supreme Court court decision that upheld a law banning the use of state Medicaid dollars for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. The high...

Pennsylvania's Supreme Court said Monday that a lower court must hear a challenge to the constitutionality of a decades-old state law that limits the use of Medicaid dollars to cover the cost of abortions. The 3-2 decision both overturns a lower court decision to dismiss the case and puts aside a 1985 state Supreme Court court decision that upheld a law banning the use of state Medicaid dollars for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. The high court’s majority said Monday...

Pennsylvania's Supreme Court said Monday that a lower court must hear a challenge to the constitutionality of a decades-old state law that limits the use of Medicaid dollars to cover the cost of abortions. The 3-2 decision both overturns a lower court decision to dismiss the case and puts aside a 1985 state Supreme Court court decision that upheld a law banning the use of state Medicaid dollars for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. The high court’s majority said Monday...