Please Act Soon to Pass H.B. 2050 in the Pennsylvania Senate

Mike McMonagle,President
Pro-Life Coalition of Pennsylvania

Summary

H.B.2050 amends Pennsylvania's Abortion Control Act to ban killing children in the womb by abortion who have been diagnosed with Down Syndrome. The Pennsylvnaia House passed this legislation on April 16, 2018 by a 139-56 vote. The Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee passed this legislation on June 13, 2018 by a 9-5 vote.

The Pennsylvania Senate has three remaining Session Days (October 15, 16, and 17, 2018) to pass this legislation. If run in the full Senate, this legislation is likely to pass with 32-34 votes. However, for reasons that I explain in this email, the Pa. Senate Leaders, i.e., Sen. Joe Scarnati, the Senate President, and Sen. Jake Corman, the Senate Majority Leader, are currently declining to run this legislation.

The Importance of the Pennsylvania Senate Running This Legislation

The consideration of H.B.2050 by the full Pennsylvania Senate is likely to yield some near-term benefits.

If enacted into law, H.B.2050 would save lives. This legislation would result in expectant mothers and fathers reconsidering their decisions to kill their children in the womb because he or she has been diagnosed with Down Syndrome.

If not on November 6, 2018, Pennsylvania's citizens will someday elect a pro-life Governor who will sign pro-life legislation. However, the consideration of H.B.2050 has again revealed the unreliability of House and Senate Leaders who have pro-life records. The Pennsylvania pro-life movement needs to zealously and effectively advocate for the necessary courage and healing to not only pass this legislation, but to prepare to pass even more protective legislation once Roe is reversed.

The First Challenge: Republican Senators from Southeast Pennsylvania who Face Reelection on November 6, 2018

Sen. Corman has informed lead sponsor Sen. Scott Martin that he would run H.B.2050 if the four Southeast Pennsylvania Senators would ask him to do so. These Senators are Bob Mensch, Tom McGarrigle, John Rafferty and Tommy Tomlinson.

Sen. Mensch is a co-sponsor of this legislation. He has informed me that he has made this request of Sen. Corman and will encourage these other Senators to do so. Senators Rafferty and McGarrigle have also informed our organization's leaders that they support running H.B.2050.

Sen. Tomlinson needs to hear from pro-life citizens (rtomlinson@pasen.gov; 215-638-1784; 717-787-5072). Please urge Sen. Tomlinson to ask Sen. Corman to run H.B.2050 in October 2018.

The Second Challenge: The Ongoing Feud between Senate President Joe Scarnati and House Speaker Mike Turzai

This feud, and related conflicts over whether pro-life bills should be House or Senate bills, as well as connecting the passage of pro-life legislation to the other body passing other legislation, is lengthy and has previously proven highly deleterious to passing pro-life legislation.

For sure, each body has legitimate points, complaints and failings. We need to pray and urge Sen. Scarnati and Speaker Turzai to place their shared mission of passing pro-life legislation above their internal conflicts.

Please contact both (Scarnati: jscarnati@pasen.gov & 717-787-7084; Turzai: mturzai@pahousegop.com & 717-772-9943). Please urge them to act like the real mother in the King Solomon story and set aside their past conflicts and pass this pro-life legislation.