State lawmaker wants to end mandatory counseling and waiting period for abortions in PA

A proposed bill from Democratic lawmakers would remove hurdles to getting an abortion in the state by taking away the currently mandated counseling and 24-hour waiting period requirements.

In 2023, there were 35,412 abortions performed in Pennsylvania, according to the state Department of Health.

For each one—no matter the circumstances—the patients had to undergo counseling and wait 24 hours after their first appointment before they could receive their abortion care. 

It’s a process that unnecessarily burdens women seeking care and the system providing it. But one state lawmaker is trying to change that.

Democratic Rep. Melissa Shusterman (Chester) plans to introduce a bill that would remove the medically unnecessary 24-hour waiting period and the counseling requirement. 

Shusterman said they create “unnecessary obstacles and often deter pregnant individuals from accessing abortion care.”

“The waiting period requirement forces women seeking care to make multiple trips to a clinic or health care provider,” Shusterman said in a memo. “Patients find this requirement to be financially burdensome, as it requires them to take additional time off work, arrange childcare, and/or incur the expenses involved with travelling a long distance. Abortion is a safe, legal, and sometimes life-saving medical procedure, and it must be accessible for all who need it.”

Abortion is legal in the commonwealth up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. In 1982, Pennsylvania passed the Abortion Control Act, which required women to give “informed consent” before an abortion could be performed, imposed a 24-hour waiting period, and mandated counseling.

With Shusterman’s proposed bill, most of those requirements would be removed.

“Abortion is health care,” Shusterman said. “By removing limitations, we can continue to make abortion more accessible to all.”