DePasquale promises to use Attorney General’s office to protect abortion access

Former Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale told The Keystone in a recent interview that he wants to protect abortion access for all women, and that includes those traveling to the commonwealth.

Protecting reproductive rights and abortion access for women in Pennsylvania is set to play an important role in the upcoming race for Attorney General. 

“One thing I’ve made it clear is that not only will I protect abortion rights for anyone in Pennsylvania, but for anyone leaving one of these right-wing authoritarian states that are passing these overly restrictive laws that need to come here to make sure that their reproductive rights are maintained,” Eugene DePasquale, the Democratic nominee for Attorney General, said in an interview following the primary. 

“I’ll protect their rights as well.”

DePasquale is the former Pennsylvania Auditor General and he is running against York County’s Republican District Attorney Dave Sunday for the open seat this November. 

Attorney General Michelle Henry’s term expires at the end of this year and she is not seeking reelection for the office. Henry was appointed Attorney General after Gov. Josh Shapiro was sworn into office in Jan. 2023. 

DePasquale cited what happened with abortion rights in Arizona, Florida and more states as reasons to protect women from out-of-state seeking abortions in Pennsylvania. 

“These are states where people need to have their abortion rights maintained,” Depasquale said. “If that means they have to come to Pennsylvania, I’ll make sure that they get that while they’re here.”

The amount of women traveling to Pennsylvania for an abortion since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade has increased significantly. 

A report issued last Dec. by the Pennsylvania Department of Health shows that the number of Ohio women who traveled across state lines for an abortion almost tripled from 557 in 2021 to 1,378 in 2022 and the number of West Virginia women who came to Pennsylvania for the procedure increased from 390 in 2021 to 462 in 2022. 

Protecting abortion access for out-of-state women has been an issue DePasquale has carried throughout the campaign. 

“We’re in a post-Dobbs world and we need an Attorney General that’s going to protect reproductive freedoms,” DePasquale told The Keystone after launching his campaign.

“All of those things don’t happen if you have a Republican Attorney General, which will set the clock back to probably the Stone Ages.”