Councilman Wilson discusses three bills he introduced in response to the recent SCOTUS ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Photo: Office of Councilman Wilson

Hello everyone, 

At the end of June, I introduced three bills at Pittsburgh City Council to protect reproductive freedom and the right to choose in the City of Pittsburgh. My introduction of these bills comes in response to the decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) to overturn Roe v. Wade (1973), Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), and its progeny, thereby ending Americans’ constitutional right to abortion. The Court’s decision in Dobbs clears the way for states to enact their own abortion laws.

If the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania bans abortion, the first bill will instruct the City of Pittsburgh’s Bureau of Police and other law enforcement agencies to de-prioritize enforcement of any abortion-related crime. The City of Pittsburgh used a similar strategy in the past to decriminalize marijuana. The language of this bill relies on the fact that law enforcement does have some discretion in how they prioritize their time and budget.

The second bill seeks to regulate deceptive advertising by limited-services pregnancy centers, also known as crisis pregnancy centers, in the City of Pittsburgh. These centers often pose as health care clinics but give out misleading or false information about pregnancy health care and often do not provide care or delay care for pregnant people. Crisis pregnancy centers outnumber verified health care clinics 9 to 1 in Pennsylvania and tend to target Black and brown neighborhoods. The City of Pittsburgh’s Home Rule Charter states that in our city, citizens should expect “aggressive action from officials toward the achievement of health and safety.” City Council has established a strong precedent of passing legislation that seeks to “protect and promote the general health, safety, and welfare” of our citizens. I believe that the City of Pittsburgh can regulate this type of advertising without infringing on the First Amendment because the Supreme Court previously gave states the ability to regulate “deceptive health advertising.” 

The third bill aims to shield abortion providers in the city of Pittsburgh from out-of-state investigation or prosecution for providing abortion care that is legal in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. About half of all states are expected to ban abortions. Some states have already signaled that they are interested in prosecuting health care providers offering abortions to their residents in other states. Here in southwestern Pennsylvania, we are neighbors to Ohio, where abortion is banned after six weeks, and West Virginia, where a total abortion ban is expected. The goal of passing this bill is to ensure that health care providers in Pittsburgh are not targeted for providing abortions to people who live in neighboring states where abortion access is restricted. I want doctors in Pittsburgh to focus only on taking care of patients and their families when they are making private decisions about what is best for them.

I believe that everyone has a constitutional right to reproductive freedom in this country. Exercising this right entails the right to choose what happens to your body. In Dobbs, the Supreme Court of the United States took away peoples’ constitutional right to choose what happens to their body. I cannot accept that. That is why I introduced these three bills and that is why I will fight to make them law.

If you have any thoughts about these bills, or ideas about other ways we can protect reproductive freedom and the right to choose here in the City of Pittsburgh, please feel free to call us at 412- 255-2135, email us at [email protected], or find us on Facebook and Twitter. We look forward to hearing from you.

BOBBY WILSON 

COUNCILMAN, DISTRICT 1