The pro-life prognosis in Pennsylvania: An interview with Maria V. Gallagher

Maria V. Gallagher is Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, the leading prolife organization in the Keystone State. Once among the most staunchly prolife of states, Pennsylvania’s resilience for life has been tried by the election of various pro-abortion politicians and is likely to be stress tested by the re-election of Governor Josh Shapiro and Democratic majorities in both houses of the state Legislature. Ms. Gallagher discussed the prognosis for Pennsylvania’s culture of life in an interview with Catholic World Report.

CWR: The “blue tsunami” that engulfed many pro-life politicians on November 3 also struck Pennsylvania. The Keystone State reelected pro-abortion Governor Josh Shapiro, has Democratic control of both chambers of the state legislature, and lost four Republican congressmen. What happened?

Ms. Gallagher: There were a number of factors involved in the defeat of pro-life candidates in Pennsylvania. The Keystone State was home to many pro-life Democratic public officials: from former Governor Robert Casey Sr. to legendary legislator Tommy Tangretti, these officeholders were solidly pro-life while serving in the Democratic Party. Currently, in the Pennsylvania legislature, there’s only one Democrat with a pro-life voting history. I find that incredibly sad.

The high cost of gasoline, groceries, and other goods has financially strained many voters. They are looking for change, and so they voted against Republicans.

Finally, the political arm of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion operation, targeted Republican lawmakers, especially in southeastern Pennsylvania (around Philadelphia). So that had a huge impact as well.

CWR: What will the impact on current pro-life laws in Pennsylvania be from a Democratic trifecta–governor and both houses of the legislature–in Harrisburg? Are any specific pro-life policies endangered?

Ms. Gallagher: The Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act, a landmark law which served as a model for pro-life legislation around the country, is in serious danger. If it is dismantled, we would lose parental consent and informed consent for abortions, along with our 24-hour waiting period. Our abortion center regulation law, which was passed in the wake of the murder spree of abortionist Kermit Gosnell, is also in jeopardy. Given the composition of the incoming legislature, all of our pro-life protections are at risk of falling by the wayside.

CWR: How quickly do you think the incoming Legislature might try to make any of those changes? How can those changes be stopped?

Ms. Gallagher: I believe that the incoming legislature will move quickly—definitely within the first 100 days—to make these changes. That is why we as pro-life advocates are mobilizing now. We are fully prepared to counter any pro-abortion measure as soon as it is introduced in the General Assembly. While we face long odds, it is possible that this legislation can be stopped in its tracks if enough people register their concerns with their state lawmakers.

CWR: Does Pennsylvania currently fund abortions under its Medicaid or other health care programs? If not, is it likely to, even if the Hyde Amendment stays in place on the federal level?

Ms. Gallagher: Because of a ruling by the Commonwealth Court, Pennsylvania recently began funding Medicaid abortions beyond those for reasons of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother. The issue is now before the PA Supreme Court.

CWR: With the current legislative configuration in Harrisburg, what are the chances of its trying to get a pro-abortion amendment into the state constitution? What’s required to change Pennsylvania’s constitution, and how should pro-lifers prepare for that, especially given the success rates of such state amendments?

Ms. Gallagher: It is quite likely that the leaders of the 2027 pro-abortion Pennsylvania legislature will try to pass a pro-abortion state constitutional amendment. This would require the legislation to pass both the PA House of Representatives and the State Senate in two consecutive sessions before it would be placed on the ballot.

Pro-lifers need to get educated, motivated, and engaged immediately. Even though a ballot issue may not appear before voters until 2029, we need to be preparing now. We can learn from the experience in other states to determine how best to move forward.

CWR: Apart from legislative changes, do you see administrative changes that could affect pro-life policies in Pennsylvania? Or has that work largely happened in the first Shapiro Administration?

Ms. Gallagher: The Shapiro Administration may use executive orders and regulations to expand abortion in the Commonwealth. Pennsylvanians successfully defeated 502 pages of regulations, which, among other things, could have encouraged bureaucrats to pressure teenage girls into having abortions.

The risk of abortion promotion by bureaucratic fiat is real—that is why we must be vigilant. Governor Shapiro’s second term could prove disastrous for unborn babies and their mothers in Pennsylvania.

CWR: One reason the abortionist Kermit Gosnell got away with his “house of horrors” in Philadelphia–snipping newborns’ spinal cords and causing the death of a Bhutanese refugee woman–was lax health enforcement under the Ridge and Rendell administrations, both pro-abortion governors, albeit of both parties. What do you see going on in this sphere in Pennsylvania? Is the situation waiting for a new Gosnell?

Ms. Gallagher: If we lose our abortion center regulation law, a lack of government oversight could give rise to future Gosnells, which is a frightening possibility.

CWR: Pennsylvania once was a shining pro-life city on a hill, with Governor Robert Casey Sr. being one of the last pro-life leaders in the Democratic party. What happened to Pennsylvania’s pro-life base? Can it be rebuilt?

Ms. Gallagher: Pennsylvania still has a pro-life base. Unfortunately, the abortion industry has overtaken the Democratic Party.

It is not your grandfather’s party. It is an apologist for abortion businesses throughout the Commonwealth.

We need to redouble our efforts to educate the public about what abortion is—the taking of an innocent, unrepeatable human life—and what that loss can mean for a mother grieving the death of her child. It is not health care. It is a tragedy. When people recognize that fact, they embrace the cause of life.

CWR: John Fetterman is up for reelection to the U.S. Senate in two years. What’s the pro-life plan there?

Ms. Gallagher: We need a good, strong pro-life communicator who will run for the U.S. Senate and win that seat.

Unfortunately, Senator Fetterman has a pro-abortion stance and an abysmal record on the life issues.

CWR: Josh Shapiro was on Kamala Harris’s vice presidential short list in 2024, and there are rumors of him having presidential ambitions of his own. What do Pennsylvania pro-lifers have to say to their national brethren about Governor Shapiro?

Ms. Gallagher: Governor Shapiro is no moderate when it comes to abortion.  He is supporting a state Constitutional Amendment that would allow abortion up to the moment of birth.

He took away funding from a program, which many Pennsylvania women and their families relied on. This program funded pregnancy-help centers throughout Pennsylvania.

He seems to have no concept of the valuable work of pregnancy resource centers, which offer concrete support to pregnant women facing difficult circumstances. We fully expect the Shapiro Administration to support legislation that would attempt to put pregnancy resource centers out of business.

CWR: What has been the impact of the abortion pill on Pennsylvania women?

Ms. Gallagher: Pennsylvania women have been dramatically impacted by the abortion drug, which now accounts for most abortions in the Commonwealth. It is a risky drug for women—they can experience hemorrhaging and other complications after taking it. Abusive men have been known to surreptitiously place the drug in food and beverages, causing women to undergo abortions they do not even want.

Thankfully, women who take the first abortion pill and change their minds before taking the second have a fighting chance of saving their babies through abortion pill reversal. Nationwide, an estimated 8,000 babies’ lives have been saved through APR. Mail-order abortions in Pennsylvania are the result of an executive order by Governor Shapiro.

We expect the state legislature to attempt to enact an abortionist shield law, which would shield abortionists from prosecution for mailing abortion pills into states with abortion bans.