Advocates looking at impact of Supreme Court abortion ruling in Pa.

(Harrisburg) — Pennsylvania advocates on both sides of the abortion issue are working to figure out how the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today could affect laws in the commonwealth.

The nation’s highest court has ruled Texas can’t require physicians to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital if they perform abortions, and can’t mandate higher standards for abortion facilities.

Pennsylvania has slightly similar regulations regarding facilities, which has advocates across the state interested in the case.

Sue Frietsche with the pro-women’s rights group the Women’s Law Project says the analysis will take some time.

“Because this is such a fact-sensitive standard, we’re going to be looking really carefully and minutely at the opinion over the next days and weeks and seeing what it means for Pennsylvania,” she says.

Maria Gallagher with the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation is already warning about any changes to regulations.

“It would be tragic for the women of Pennsyvlania because their health and safety would no longer be safeguarded in these abortion facilities,” adds Gallagher.

In today’s opinion, as they struck down the new regulations, Supreme Court justices said Texas couldn’t show how the rules helped protect women’s health better than the current laws.

“This will require careful analysis of the more burdensome provisions in the Pennsylvania ambulatory surgical facility regulations, and we will see,” says Frietsche.

Both sides say part of the delay is because the Supreme Court’s ruling was based on facts specific to Texas, so they’ll have to try to sort through the wording to get a sense of how Pennsylvania could be impacted.