Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed legislation that would have prevented women from aborting babies diagnosed with Down syndrome.
The Republican-controlled legislature passed the legislation earlier this week that would have changed state law allowing abortions up to 24 weeks for any reason except the gender of the child. In addition to being denied abortion because the fetus was a boy or a girl, the legislation would block abortions because the child had a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome.
The bill passed on a party-line vote with the support of only one Democrat and one independent in the Pennsylvania state Senate. Wolf had signaled that he would veto the legislation if it made it to his desk, and he made good on that promise Thursday. He claimed there was “no evidence” that Down syndrome abortions were widespread and doubted that the legislation could be implemented without harming doctor-patient confidentiality.
“There is no evidence that this bill is needed in Pennsylvania,” Wolf said in a statement. “I have significant concerns that enforcement of this legislation would upend the doctor-patient relationship and impede on patient confidentiality.”
He added, “Further, I am not aware of a single disability rights group that supports this bill. I support continuing the bipartisan work that’s been done to help people with disabilities. I also believe there is much more Pennsylvania could do to help women and families facing complex pregnancies. However, this bill does not aid in either of these efforts.”
There are as many as 6,000 Down syndrome abortions per year, according to the National Down Syndrome Society. In 2017, Iceland reported that nearly 100% of women who were given a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome decided to have an abortion.
