House Judiciary Committee advances Reproductive Rights Amendment
Rep. Danielle Friel Otten October 22, 2025 | 4:30 PM
HARRISBURG, Oct. 22 – The Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee today approved a joint resolution sponsored by state Reps. Danielle Friel Otten, D-Chester, Liz Hanbidge, D-Montgomery, and La’Tasha D. Mayes, D-Allegheny, that would add a Reproductive Rights Amendment to the Pennsylvania constitution.
The proposed legislation, introduced as H.B. 1957, comes at a pivotal moment in the national conversation on reproductive rights. Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the authority to regulate reproductive health care has shifted to individual states, prompting a wave of legislative and voter-led efforts across the country. In response, voters in states such as Ohio, Michigan, Vermont and California have approved constitutional amendments or ballot initiatives to enshrine reproductive rights in their state constitutions. These actions reflect a growing recognition that state-level protections are now essential to safeguarding access to abortion and other reproductive health care. Pennsylvania’s proposed amendment seeks to join this national movement by ensuring reproductive freedom is permanently enshrined in the state constitution.
The Otten, Hanbidge and Mayes bill proposes an amendment to the Pennsylvania constitution that would reaffirm and protect every Pennsylvanian’s right to privacy and ensure that the state shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate personal decisions. This amendment would ensure that every individual has a right of privacy with respect to personal, sexual and reproductive health care decisions, including the right to choose or refuse an abortion, the right to choose or refuse contraceptives, and the right to choose or refuse fertility care, all without discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion or relationship status.
House rules first adopted at the start of the 2023 legislative session and again at the start of the 2025 legislative session improve the transparency of the constitutional amendment process. Under these rules, any proposed amendment to the Pennsylvania constitution must receive a public hearing before it can be considered on the House floor. A committee hearing helps to raise public awareness of the legislation, ensure transparency of the process, and give lawmakers the opportunity to review the language of the bill for clarity and intent. The new general operating rules of the House also ensure that proposed amendments appear on election ballots only during general elections, not primary elections, which tend to have much lower voter turnout.
“Since the Dobbs decision, citizens across the country have stepped up to defend reproductive freedom in their respective states, and Pennsylvania must be next,” Otten said. “As a woman and a mother to a young daughter, I feel a deep responsibility to protect these rights, not just for her, but for every Pennsylvanian. Our call to action is clear: we must advance this amendment and put it before the voters. The right to reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy extends far beyond pregnancy, as we’ve seen in cases across the country since the Dobbs decision reshaped women’s health care in the United States. In states such as Georgia, where Adriana Smith’s body was kept alive through medical intervention after she was declared brain dead, without her consent or even her family’s consent, for the sole purpose of gestation, the moral and ethical conflict of government interference in reproductive decisions became starkly clear. This is about protecting our privacy, our autonomy and our future. There is no role for government in the personal health care decisions of women beyond the ethical standards that guide medical professionals. We are not just reacting to a crisis; we are building a proactive, durable safeguard for generations to come. The road ahead is long and won’t be easy, but my colleagues and I are committed to seeing it through.”
“While the Pennsylvania constitution already provides protections against sex discrimination – and our state Supreme Court has affirmed that restricting access to abortion is a form of sex discrimination – it’s time to make it unmistakably clear: reproductive freedom, including access to contraception, fertility care and abortion, is a protected right in this commonwealth,” Hanbidge said. “This amendment ensures that those rights are no longer left vulnerable to political interpretation or attack. It is about trusting individuals to decide what is best for their bodies, their families and their futures.”
Hanbidge also noted that other states have taken bold, decisive action to protect reproductive freedom in the wake of?Dobbs.
“The constitutional right to abortion is essential to reproductive health, reproductive justice and reproductive rights in our commonwealth. It is fundamental for a woman or person to make this decision about their health and well-being for themselves, and it is incumbent on us as a state legislature to codify this right into our state constitution to provide the full range of legal and health care protections that the women of Pennsylvania deserve,” Mayes said. “As a national reproductive justice leader and policy advocate for over 25 years, I have organized to expand health care access including access to abortion at the federal, state and local levels. I know that our human right to control our bodies, sexuality, gender, work, reproduction, and the ability to form our families is sacred – it is the truest meaning of reproductive justice.”
"Every Pennsylvanian, like every American, deserves access to safe, legal, compassionate and affordable health care, especially throughout pregnancy,” said Laura Hernández, Senior Policy Associate for Reproductive Rights with State Innovation Exchange (SiX). “By voting in favor of this amendment, legislators affirm to their constituents that their bodily autonomy matters and their ability to make personal decisions about their families and futures is worth protecting. At a time when public trust in government and the democratic process is fragile, giving Pennsylvanians the opportunity to vote directly on this amendment, as written, is a powerful step toward restoring that trust."
To advance following today’s committee vote, and ultimately appear on a future ballot for voters, the bill will need to pass the House and Senate, with no changes to the bill language, in two consecutive sessions.
Those interested can view the livestream of today’s hearing here.