Log In


Reset Password

Wolf sues to stop amendments on abortion, voting laws

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor sued the state Legislature on Thursday over a package of proposed constitutional amendments that Republican lawmakers are pursuing, including one that would say the state constitution does not guarantee any rights relating to abortion or public funding of abortions.

The lawsuit filed in the state Supreme Court argues that the proposed abortion amendment would violate privacy protections. Gov. Tom Wolf wants the high court to throw out the amendments, declaring that they are not constitutionally valid.

The lawmakers are attempting to circumnavigate Wolf’s power to veto legislation he does not support.

Wolf claims that bundling the abortion amendment together with four others in a bill that passed the General Assembly earlier this month as budget sessions were wrapping up runs afoul of a constitutional rule against passing legislation that addresses multiple, unrelated topics.

Wolf in a statement said the abortion-related amendment was part of GOP lawmakers’ effort to “dismantle access to abortion and implement a radical agenda.”

The other four amendments would require voter ID, have gubernatorial candidates choose their own running mates, empower lawmakers to cancel regulations without facing a governor’s veto and establish election audits. Although the House and Senate voted for them as a package, mostly along partisan lines, voters would consider the questions individually.

The lawsuit describes the bill as “a mishmash of changes to at least four different articles of the constitution,” a set of measures Wolf claims “abridges personal liberties and freedoms and alters our current balance of power and constitutional checks and balances.”

Wolf’s lawsuit says the proposed amendments “are exactly the sort of complex changes that require careful deliberation at a constitutional convention prior to a fair and accurate presentation to the electorate.”

House Republican spokesman Jason Gottesman said Wolf’s lawsuit lacked merit and was an attempt to “subvert the power of the people’s voice in the General Assembly.”

FILE - Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf speaks in support of abortion rights during a news conference on Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Wednesday, May 4, 2022. Gov. Wolf sued the state Legislature on Thursday, July 28, 2022, over a package of proposed constitutional amendments that Republican lawmakers are pursuing, including one that would say the state constitution does not guarantee any rights relating to abortion or public funding of abortions. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)