Josh Shapiro Speaks Out After U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade

HARRISBURG — Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania's current attorney general who is running as the Democratic candidate for governor, spoke out on Friday following the United States Supreme Court's decision to overturn the case of Roe v. Wade, which for 50 years constitutionally guaranteed a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy.

Shapiro, who supports a woman's right to choose, addressed the issue during a virtual press call with reporters from across the state early Friday afternoon.

"This is obviously a devastating day for America and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," Shapiro said on the decision by the highest court in the land to return the issue of abortion to the states.

Shapiro said he sympathizes with women across Pennsylvania who are hurting in light of the court's decision and are feeling the effects of having their rights "stripped away" as a result of the conservative court's majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

Shapiro said he had spoken to his own 20-year-old daughter on Friday, and was sad at the fact that she "came into this world two decades ago with more rights than she has today."

During the call, Shapiro, who lives in Abington Township, Montgomery County, said there is no doubt that the Republican majority in the Pennsylvania General Assembly is ready to move on bills that would restrict or outright ban abortion in the Keystone State, and that the only wall between those measures being signed into law or being booted is him winning this November's general election.

"The stakes in this governor's race could not be more clear, and the contrast between me and my dangerous opponent could not be more clear," Shapiro said, referencing Republican State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the GOP's candidate for Pennsylvania governor.

Shapiro said make no mistake, Mastriano would one hundred percent sign an abortion ban into Pennsylvania law.

"While he would champion that bill, I will veto that bill when it reaches my desk," Shapiro said. "Abortion is healthcare and it must remain so, and if I'm governor it will remain legal in Pennsylvania."

Shapiro said individuals should be able to maintain bodily autonomy, and what Supreme Court justices did this week was to remove a woman's ability to make her own health decisions.

"It's not freedom to tell a woman what she could do with her own body," Shapiro said. "Real freedom, I believe, comes from trusting the women of Pennsylvania to make decisions over their own bodies. As your governor, I will always defend that fundamental freedom."

Austin Davis, the western Pennsylvania state representative who is running alongside Shapiro as candidate for lieutenant governor, said reversing Roe v. Wade was not only an attack on abortion, "it's an attack on Americans' fundamental freedoms."

Davis, who also participated in Friday's press call, said as a member of the General Assembly, he has sat and "watched as my Republican colleagues pass bills to ban abortion in Pennsylvania."

"I will proudly stand next to Josh Shapiro as he vetoes that legislation," he said.

Davis said abortion bans are especially dangerous for women of color, as they are the demographic who are more likely to die from pregnancy related causes.

During the call, a reporter asked Shapiro about the fact that there are other issues important to voters as the governor's race approaches, such as the economy, jobs, inflation, and more.

"We will also make sure that those other issues get attention," Shapiro said in response. "I can walk and chew gum at the same time, and so can the voters."

Davis noted that while choosing a new governor is important, so is focusing on down-ballot races, especially when considering the fact that the abortion issue, like other issues, will now be before members of state legislatures to decide their outcomes.

"Every race is critical here in Pennsylvania to make sure we maintain reproductive freedom," he said.

In Pennsylvania, the Republican party has had a majority in both chambers of the General Assembly for decades, and Shapiro noted the importance of having a Democratic governor to be able to act as a check and balance.

"It matters what the next governor does with their pen," Shapiro said. "I'm confident we'll come out on the winning side."

Shapiro said he supports current Pennsylvania law allowing abortions up to 23 weeks and that he would "veto any bills that chip away at that."

Davis, meanwhile, said he and Shapiro would work across party aisles to make a "better and stronger Pennsylvania."