Pro-life group urges Pennsylvania court to reverse abortion funding ruling

A pro-life legal group is urging the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that struck down restrictions on taxpayer funding for most abortions.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which filed a brief supporting the state's effort to overturn the ruling, argued in a Nov. 2 release that Pennsylvania has the authority to protect unborn life through laws passed by its elected representatives.

The case previously reached the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2024, when the justices ordered what the release described as a tougher level of constitutional review of the restrictions but did not decide whether they violated the state constitution, sending the case back for further proceedings.

The ACLJ noted that in 2026, the Commonwealth Court struck down the restrictions and recognized a state constitutional right to “reproductive autonomy,” which the release said does not appear in the state constitution.

In its brief, the ACLJ urged the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reverse that decision and return the case for further proceedings.

In the release, the group pointed to Pennsylvania's Abortion Control Act, which states that “the Commonwealth places a supreme value upon protecting human life” and declares a public policy of “encouraging childbirth over abortion.”

The group argued that the ruling raises broader concerns about the authority of elected lawmakers to determine abortion policy.

“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 release said.

The legal dispute unfolds as abortion policy remains contested across the country. In the Nov. 3 midterm elections, voters rejected an abortion-rights measure in Idaho but approved constitutional protections for abortion in Virginia and Nevada.

The group concluded, stating, “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.”