Newtown Township To Call On Legislature To Retain Abortion Rights

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors at its next meeting is expected to weigh in on the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

At the request of Supervisor Elen Snyder, the board of supervisors will vote on a resolution calling on the state legislature to retain abortion rights in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Calling abortion “something that is very important to most of our community," Snyder at the July 13 meeting called on her board colleagues to take action.

The four supervisors in attendance at the meeting, including Snyder, agreed to the addition to the next agenda. The board’s only Republican, Kyle Davis, was absent from the meeting.

“Last month the far right Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade demonstrating its willingness to throw away long held precedent and directly ignore the will of the people who overwhelmingly who back that ruling,” said Snyder.

“Just think about that,” she continued. “A minority of people pushing their will onto the majority of us and telling one half of the population what we can or cannot do with our very own bodies. It’s pretty unimaginable to us here in Pennsylvania and here in Newtown Township as well.

“We are largely lucky where poverty almost doesn’t exist in this fairly affluent community. Most women here will be able to deal with an unwanted pregnancy and not have birth forced upon them in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormality or maternal health. We must protect all women and all circumstances.

"In Pennsylvania we have the right to abortion and we must keep it that way,” said Snyder. “Tonight I’m asking my fellow supervisors for a consensus that at our next meeting this matter be put on the agenda to authorize our solicitor to draft an appropriate resolution to be
considered for adoption stating that we urge our Pennsylvania lawmakers to retain these rights as they now exist.”

There was no discussion among board members at the July 13 meeting except to agree with the placement of a resolution on the next board agenda.

In a monumental reversal of one of its most widely known landmark decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24 struck down Roe v. Wade, ending federal protections for abortion that have stood as law for nearly half a century.

The 6-3 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, widely expected ever since a draft opinion was leaked earlier this year, places Pennsylvania as one of the 24 states that is likely to still have abortion protections in place at the state level for the foreseeable future.

Pennsylvania's law allows for abortions up to 24 weeks into pregnancy.