What could an appeal mean for the new Medicaid abortion coverage?
Sunday, a Republican, filed an appeal in May contesting the Commonwealth Court’s decision. The state Supreme Court has agreed to take up the case.
In the meantime, state Medicaid coverage for abortion will be allowed to continue while the appeal proceeds, a judge decided this past week.
Sunday has said that his appeal falls in line with his responsibilities as attorney general to defend local laws according to Pennsylvania statute, which states that “it shall be the duty of the Attorney General to uphold and defend the constitutionality of all statutes so as to prevent their suspension or abrogation in the absence of a controlling decision by a court of competent jurisdiction.”
Leaders at organizations like the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation called Sunday’s move a “bold step” and said the case represents an “urgent matter.”
“We know from research that when taxpayer funding of abortion occurs, abortion rates skyrocket,” Gallagher said.
At least one study published in 2024 that looked at abortions among Medicaid participants in six states, before the overturning of Roe v. Wade, found that lifetime abortion incidence was higher in states where services were covered by the publicly funded health insurance program.
Now with expanded Medicaid insurance coverage in Pennsylvania, Gallagher said she worries that the number of procedures will increase here as well while the appeals case takes place.
“It’s a traumatic situation for women in Pennsylvania and a tragedy for pre-born babies in Pennsylvania,” she said. “It is very important that we go back to the way things were and return to a policy that’s common sense, that makes sense for women and for their families.”