HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsylvania House on Wednesday narrowly approved a proposal that would allow voters to decide whether to enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution, marking a pivotal and contentious step in a national debate reshaped by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.
Lawmakers voted 102-101 to pass House Bill 1957, a joint resolution sponsored by Reps. Danielle Friel Otten of Chester County, Liz Hanbidge of Montgomery County, and La’Tasha D. Mayes of Allegheny County. The measure proposes a constitutional amendment affirming a right to privacy and prohibiting the state from denying or interfering with an individual’s reproductive freedom.
If ultimately approved, the amendment would explicitly protect personal, sexual, and reproductive health care decisions, including the right to choose or refuse abortion, contraception, and fertility care, without discrimination based on race, sex, religion, or relationship status.
Supporters framed the razor-thin House vote as a turning point for Pennsylvania, arguing the General Assembly is moving from a defensive posture to a proactive effort to secure lasting protections.
“Pennsylvanians deserve the opportunity to decide whether personal reproductive rights should be explicitly protected in our state constitution,” Otten said, urging the Senate to take up the measure. She said the proposal is about safeguarding privacy and autonomy for future generations and ensuring voters, not politicians alone, determine the issue’s fate.
Hanbidge said the amendment responds directly to the legal uncertainty created by Dobbs, which overturned Roe v. Wade and returned abortion policy to the states.
“Reproductive freedom cannot be assumed — it must be explicitly protected,” Hanbidge said, adding that the proposal covers the full spectrum of reproductive health care and shields deeply personal medical decisions from shifting political winds.
Mayes, a longtime reproductive justice advocate, said codifying the right to abortion and related care in the state constitution is essential to protecting individual liberty.
“Decisions about pregnancy and personal health belong to the individual, not the government,” she said.
Wednesday’s vote sends the proposed amendment to the state Senate, where its future remains uncertain. Under Pennsylvania’s constitution, a proposed amendment must pass both chambers in two consecutive legislative sessions without any changes before it can be placed on the ballot for voter approval.
If the Senate acts on the measure in 2026 and approves it, the resolution would return to the House in the 2027–28 session for a second vote. If the Senate does not take it up or alters the language, the process would have to restart in a future session.
The narrow margin of passage reflected the intense divisions surrounding reproductive rights in the state, setting the stage for a high-stakes debate in the Senate and, potentially, among voters statewide.
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