FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 24, 2022

Contact:

SPA Press, Press@joshshapiro.org

 

ICYMI: Josh Shapiro and Austin Davis Vow to Always Defend Reproductive Rights in Pennsylvania, Stand Up to Mastriano’s Dangerous Extremism

 

PENNSYLVANIA – Today, Attorney General Josh Shapiro and State Representative Austin Davis spoke with reporters about the stakes of the Pennsylvania Governor’s race in light of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. It is now evident that the next Governor of Pennsylvania will determine whether abortion remains legal in the Commonwealth. 

Doug Mastriano, on the other hand, has spent the day celebrating this decision, as it aligns perfectly with what he calls “number one” priority – banning abortion without exceptions and jailing doctors who perform them.

As the next Governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro will continue to protect the right to choose, uphold existing Pennsylvania law that protects reproductive rights, and veto any bill that would further restrict abortion rights, because he believes that Pennsylvania women should have the freedom to make decisions over their own bodies and receive the health care they need.

See below for excerpts of today’s press call and key points on the stakes of this Governor’s race:

Attorney General Josh Shapiro

“While we expected this decision would come, I feel and hear the hurt and the anger and the sadness of women in Pennsylvania who were seeing rights being stripped away from them after 50 years of legal precedent being ignored by this Supreme Court. In fact, just a few moments ago, I hung up the phone with our 20 year old daughter. She came into this world two decades ago, with more rights than she has today as a result of this Supreme Court. […]

“Doug Mastriano has said that it is his number one priority – his words not mine – to ban all abortion in Pennsylvania, to sign a bill with no exceptions for rape or incest, and to jail doctors and other health care providers that perform abortions. I want you to know that while he will champion that bill. I will veto that bill when it reaches my desk and I will keep abortion legal here in Pennsylvania. […]

“It’s not freedom to tell a woman what she can do with her own body and tell them that the politicians in Harrisburg know better – that’s not freedom, and it’s not freedom to tell a woman how and when and under what terms she can start a family. Real freedom, I believe, comes from trusting the women of Pennsylvania to make decisions over their own bodies and to make their own decisions over how to start and when to start a family. […]

“And I stand in stark contrast to my opponent who wants to strip away those fundamental freedoms from women here in Pennsylvania. There is one way and one way only to ensure that abortion remains legal in Pennsylvania, and that is winning this governor’s race, which is exactly what Austin Davis and I intend to do.”

State Representative Austin Davis

“I sit in the Pennsylvania General Assembly and have watched my Republican colleagues already pass bills to restrict abortion in Pennsylvania. The only reason those bills have failed to become law is because of the veto pen of our Democratic governor. […]

“I will proudly stand next to Josh Shapiro as he vetoes that piece of legislation and let’s be clear, this decision is especially dangerous for black women in Pennsylvania. Black maternal mortality is a crisis and this decision will only further that crisis. […]

“Josh and I will always defend the right to choose, we will ensure abortion remains legal and safe here in Pennsylvania. That’s literally what is at stake in this election.”

 

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