Overview
- The Commonwealth Court, which ruled Monday in a 4-3 decision, struck down a 1982 law that barred state Medicaid funds from covering most abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or risk to the mother’s life.
- Judge Matthew Wolf’s majority opinion said the Pennsylvania Constitution protects reproductive autonomy and found the ban violated the state’s Equal Rights Amendment and equal protection guarantees.
- Attorney General David Sunday, who stepped in to defend the restriction after the governor declined, is reviewing the decision and has not said whether he will appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
- Gov. Josh Shapiro praised the ruling after refusing to defend the ban, while three dissenting judges said the majority overstepped and decided the case without full fact-finding.
- The decision is the first to recognize abortion rights under Pennsylvania’s Constitution and could open coverage for low-income patients, though any expansion must account for federal rules that bar using federal Medicaid dollars for most abortions.