Gov. Tom Wolf on anti-abortion bills: 'I would veto it'

Gov. Tom Wolf announced Thursday he will never allow an anti-abortion bill to make it into law while he’s governor.

Wolf, in a video statement posted on social media, referenced other states that have recently passed antiabortion bills including Alabama and Georgia, where they have already been signed into law.

Missouri lawmakers are also considering similar measures.

Alabama’s law virtually outlaws all abortions except when a woman’s life is in danger. Georgia’s law bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can be as early as six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant.

“If such a bill were to come to my desk I would veto it,” Wolf said.

I’m appalled by legislation in Alabama, Georgia, and even here in Pennsylvania that limits a woman’s right to choose.

I’ll veto any anti-choice bill that lands on my desk. I won’t let our commonwealth go backward on reproductive rights. pic.twitter.com/CJ8Fs6krSo

— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) May 16, 2019

Wolf said those bills “seek to place a politician between a woman and her doctor when it comes to the most important medical decision she’s ever going to make.”

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed legislation Tuesday that would outlaw abortions because of a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome.

The Republican-controlled House passed the bill, 117-76, after two hours of debate. Wolf’s office has said the governor would veto that bill if it made it to his desk.