HARRISBURG, PA — On April 20, Governor Josh Shapiro released a statement in response to Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania’s decision in Allegheny Reproductive Health Center vs. Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, which affirms a fundamental right to reproductive autonomy and finds that under Pennsylvania law, a state ban on Medicaid coverage for most instances of abortion care is unconstitutional. 

“I’ve long opposed this unconstitutional ban, and as Governor, I did not defend it—because a woman’s ability to access reproductive care should never be determined by her income," said Shapiro. 

Pennsylvania law has prohibited use of Medicaid funds to pay for abortion services in all but a few narrow circumstances. The law was challenged by health care providers, and in January 2024, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed past rulings upholding the law, held that the law was presumptively unconstitutional under the Equal Rights Amendment, and ordered the Commonwealth Court to determine whether the ban could survive strict scrutiny. In July 2024, Governor Shapiro announced that his Administration would not defend the discriminatory ban.

The Commonwealth Court decision of April 20 affirms that the Medicaid coverage exclusion violates the Equal Rights Amendment in Pennsylvania’s Constitution. The decision further holds that “the Pennsylvania Constitution guarantees a fundamental right to reproductive autonomy” for its residents and as a result, the Medicaid coverage exclusion also violates the equal protection provisions of the Pennsylvania Constitution.