Abortion patients and providers protected under new Allegheny County executive order
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato signed an executive order on Thursday that she says will protect people seeking and providing abortions and reproductive care.
In a statement, Innamorato said the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 was a "wakeup call that our rights are not as permanent as many of us may have believed," calling bodily autonomy "frighteningly fragile."
"Abortion, fertility treatment, and gender affirming care is all under attack and people are traveling to Allegheny County from other states for care. We'll do everything we can in our power at Allegheny County to protect our health care providers, our residents, and guests who come from out of town for care," she said.
The executive order prohibits county officials, employees and departments from using county resources to help interstate investigations into people seeking and providing abortions. The executive order says the county "has a duty to protect its citizens from the extra-legal overreach of overzealous out-of-state prosecutors seeking to hold Allegheny County residents accountable to foreign laws."
Dr. Shelia Ramgopal said it's important to be able to provide patients with reproductive care without fear of being prosecuted.
"As an abortion provider, I see patients every day who are having to jump over so many hurdles to not only get abortions but also deal with the complexities of abortion in this country," Dr. Shelia Ramgopal said.
Ramgopal also said the regional restrictions on abortion are mirrored by restrictions on gender affirming care, which Innamorato's executive order also seeks to protect.
In the weeks after Roe v. Wade was overturned, then-Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order protecting out-of-state residents who seek abortion services in Pennsylvania.