ACLJ Continues Fight Against Taxpayer-Funded Abortion in Pennsylvania

The ACLJ is continuing its fight to defend Pennsylvania’s ability to protect unborn life and prevent taxpayer dollars from being used to fund abortions.

We just filed an amicus brief at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in a major abortion funding case.

This is not our first involvement in this case. After the case was sent back to the Commonwealth Court, we filed an amicus brief in 2024 defending Pennsylvania’s right to protect unborn life and decline to use taxpayer dollars to fund most abortions. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ultimately held that the funding restrictions must face a tougher level of constitutional review, but it did not decide whether the law was unconstitutional and sent the case back for further proceedings.

Yet in 2026, without allowing the Commonwealth to fully develop the factual record supporting the law, the Commonwealth Court struck down the funding restrictions and recognized a state constitutional right to “ reproductive autonomy.” The Commonwealth is now appealing that decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and we have filed a new amicus brief supporting its appeal.

At its core, this case is about whether the citizens of Pennsylvania can choose not to use taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions. There is a difference between the government allowing someone to do something and requiring the government (and thus the taxpayers) to pay for it.

Even when Roe v. Wade was still the law of the land, the U.S. Supreme Court repeatedly recognized that a constitutional right to abortion did not mean taxpayers had to pay for one. In Harris v. McRae, the Supreme Court upheld restrictions on the use of Medicaid funds for certain abortions. And in Maher v. Roe, the Court explained that a state remained free to favor childbirth over abortion when deciding how to spend public money.

Pennsylvania’s decision not to fund most abortions reflects a policy choice that its elected representatives have made for decades – the Commonwealth has chosen to protect unborn life and favor childbirth over abortion.

The Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act expressly states that “the Commonwealth places a supreme value upon protecting human life.” It also declares Pennsylvania’s public policy of “encouraging childbirth over abortion.” Protecting the lives of the unborn is also reflected in other Pennsylvania statutes. Pennsylvania law recognizes wrongful death and survival claims involving unborn children, and its criminal laws punish crimes including homicide and aggravated assault committed against unborn children.

There is also an even larger issue at stake. The Commonwealth Court did not simply strike down a funding restriction. It recognized a state constitutional right to “ reproductive autonomy” even though that right does not appear anywhere in the text of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

That raises a fundamental separation of powers question. Who should make Pennsylvania’s abortion policy: the people through their elected representatives, or the courts?

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization returned the authority to regulate abortion to “the people and their elected representatives.” Our brief argues that Pennsylvania should not repeat the same mistake that Dobbs corrected by removing abortion policy from the democratic process and placing it in the hands of judges.

The Pennsylvania Constitution already gives legislative power to the General Assembly. Creating a new constitutional right to abortion would have consequences far beyond this case. Once courts constitutionalize abortion, more and more questions regarding abortion policy would be taken out of the hands of elected lawmakers and placed in the hands of judges, undermining the separation of powers at the heart of our system of government.

The ACLJ is asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reverse the Commonwealth Court and send the case back for further proceedings. A case of this magnitude must be decided on a full factual record.

We will continue defending Pennsylvania and states’ rights to protect unborn life, to favor childbirth over abortion, and to leave these profound policy questions where they belong: with the people and their elected representatives.

Take action with the ACLJ. Sign our petition: Defeat Abortion in All 50 States.