Media contact: Tara Murtha – tmurtha@womenslawproject.org  On January 16, 2019, represented by attorneys from the Women’s Law Project; attorney David S. Cohen; Planned Parenthood Federation of America; and a private law firm, a group of Pennsylvania abortion providers filed a lawsuit challenging the state statute that bans abortion coverage through the Pennsylvania Medicaid program. The central claim of Allegheny Reproductive Health Center v. Pennsylvania Department of Human Services is that the state’s Medicaid abortion coverage ban violates the Equal Rights Amendment and equal protecti ..read more

In a huge victory for reproductive autonomy, public health, and privacy, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Resources (DHS) will allow its contract with Real Alternatives, the controversial anti-abortion organization that oversees anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers” in Pennsylvania, to expire at the end of the year.  Next, DHS will reinvest those funds into a better program.   On August 18, the state posted a Request for Applications (RFA) that invites organizations aligned with the Administration’s goals to apply for for the millions of dollars that will become available ..read more

The school year is almost here.   While heading back to the classroom is an exciting prospect for some kids, it can be a stressful time for many, and that may be especially true for LGBTQIA+ students.  As a nonprofit public interest legal organization that works to advance LGBTQIA+ equality and protect gender-expansive youth, our heart goes out to young people returning to school amid the shameful record-high onslaught of proposed and enacted laws that aim to make participating in school and school activities like sports intolerable for LGBTQIA+ students.  They need to know the ..read more

Abortion Access Front has been fighting for abortion access and exposing anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers for years while perpetually reminding us that community, camaraderie, and a good laugh can do wonders when times are tough.   Last week, WLP’s Tara Murtha joined hosts Lizz Winstead (comedian, AAF founder & co-creator of The Daily Show) and Moji Alawode-El (writer, activist & AAF marketing manager) on AAF’s podcast Feminist Buzzkills to talk about the national significance of defunding crisis pregnancy centers in Pennsylvania.  This episode (Episode 74!) also ..read more

You did it! Thirty years and at least $134 million dollars later, anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers are defunded in Pennsylvania.   Together, we’ve been speaking up and calling for CPC accountability for many years. Here in Pennsylvania, CPC accountability begins with ending the contract with Real Alternatives, the controversial pass-through organization that has been dogged by years of unaddressed allegations of poor stewardship, to put it lightly.  The scandal behind the scandal is that pregnant Pennsylvanians urgently need legitimate support.  Next, we’ll be working to ..read more

WLP Statement on Shapiro Administration Ending Contract with Real Alternatives  Pennsylvania officials announced the state contract with crisis pregnancy center pass-through organization Real Alternatives will be terminated at the end of the year  Over the last three decades, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has funneled more than $134 million dollars, including at least $21 million intended to directly support children and pregnant people in poverty, to anti-abortion executives and activists operating in the crisis pregnancy center industry via Real Alternatives, the pass-through organ ..read more

Just in: After refusing to sign the budget, the Pennsylvania Senate just announced they will reconvene Thursday August 3 at 1PM to sign the budget, which means it will head to the Governor’s desk very soon.  We hope you join us in urging Governor Shapiro to veto the secret CPC funding increase and restore TANF funding where it belongs: supporting Pennsylvanians in crisis, not financing the anti-abortion CPC industry. With no debate or transparency, the Pennsylvania Senate slipped a 30% increase to anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) into the proposed budget.   Medical exper ..read more

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit once again upheld the city of Harrisburg’s statutory buffer zone.   WLP attorneys represent witnesses in the case and are counsel for amici curiae Physicians for Reproductive Health and Pittsburgh Pro-Choice Escorts supporting the City of Harrisburg. You can read the opinion here.  “With attacks on abortion access escalating in states where abortion remains legal, like Pennsylvania, the Third Circuit’s decision upholding Harrisburg’s buffer zone is crucial for protecting clinic staff and patients from violence and harassment,” says ..read more

Just a year ago, most people didn’t give much thought to state constitutions and the rights they protect. However, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate our federal right to abortion changed everything by highlighting the importance of safeguarding reproductive autonomy rights enshrined in state constitutions. Law360 just highlighted our case Allegheny Reproductive Health Center v. Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (ARHC v. PA DHS) as a critical post-Roe legal battle centered on state constitutional protections. Represented by attorneys from the Women’s Law Project, attorney D ..read more

It’s been one year since the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, and Pennsylvania abortion law hasn’t changed. While lots of stories marking the year since this rogue ruling will talk about the post-Dobbs divide, the truth is Pennsylvania is neither an abortion-ban state nor an abortion-protected state. Pennsylvania is an opportunity state. Most Pennsylvanians support legal access to abortion. When anti-abortion extremists met in the middle of the night scheming to strip reproductive autonomy rights out of the Pennsylvania Constitution, you voted anti-abortion leadership ou ..read more