PITTSBURGH, PA (July 19, 2022) — Pittsburgh City Councilman Bobby Wilson (District 1) passed three bills at today’s Regular Meeting of Pittsburgh City Council to protect reproductive freedom in the City of Pittsburgh.

The passage 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.

“With reproductive rights under attack in many states—including some of our closest neighbors—it has never been more important for the City of Pittsburgh to serve as a refuge for those seeking safe, legal abortion care,” said co-sponsor Councilperson Erika Strassburger. “The legislation we passed today will help thousands of patients seeking to exercise their fundamental rights and signals that Pittsburgh is committed to the fight for reproductive justice. I am proud to support these bills and I want to thank Councilman Wilson for his leadership, my colleagues who joined with their votes, and all those who have advocated for abortion rights, both in recent months and for decades prior.”

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 second bill seeks to regulate deceptive advertising by crisis pregnancy centers in the City of Pittsburgh.

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.  Greer Donley, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh Law School and a national expert on reproductive healthcare law, noted, "Pittsburgh is the first city to pass a law that helps shield its providers and citizens from out-of-state lawsuits related to reproductive healthcare that is legal in our state. This package of bills shows that Pittsburgh is an innovator in protecting abortion rights and will stand by its healthcare providers.”

“We are proud and grateful that Pittsburgh City Council has taken decisive action to protect reproductive health care providers and patients with the ordinances passed today. Thanks to Councilman Wilson and the rest of City Council, people in Pittsburgh are a little safer and more secure,” added Sue Frietsche, founder and director of the Western Pennsylvania Office of the Women’s Law Project.

“I believe that everyone has a constitutional right to reproductive freedom in this country. Exercising this right entails the exercise of the right to choose what happens to your body. In Dobbs, the Supreme Court of the United States took away the constitutional right of every American, every Pennsylvanian, every Pittsburgher to choose what happens to their body. I cannot accept that – that is why I pushed for the passage of these three bills,” said Councilman Wilson.

For press inquiries, please contact Councilman Wilson’s Chief of Staff, Mohammed Burny, at (412) 215-0528 or mohammed.burny@pittsburghpa.gov.

Posted on: July 19, 2022 @ 4:01 pm