NEWS

House passes GOP-backed fetal remains bill after heated debate. Wolf vows to veto it.

J.D. Prose
Pennsylvania State Capital Bureau

A Republican-backed bill that Democrats argue would force grieving parents to either bury or cremate fetal remains from a miscarriage, but which supporters say simply gives them an option, passed the state House on Wednesday.  

State Rep. Frank Ryan, R-Lebanon County, said he introduced House Bill 118 in what he thought was a “compassionate gesture” based on his wife’s own experience with a miscarriage, but the legislation fueled an emotional and heated debate over women’s reproductive rights and privacy. 

The bill passed 118-83, but, if approved by the GOP-led Senate, faces a certain veto from Gov. Tom Wolf. A handful of Democrats, mainly from western Pennsylvania, joined with Republicans to pass the bill, while state Rep. Todd Stephens of Montgomery County was the sole Republican to vote against it. 

State Rep. Frank Ryan said he thought his fetal remains bill was a "compassionate gesture" to give grieving parents options to dispose of remains following a miscarriage.

The bill's passage comes a day after the House approved another contentious bill that bans abortions based on a Down syndrome diagnosis, which Wolf has also promised to veto.

In a Twitter post on Tuesday, Wolf wrote, “It’s despicable that Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania are actively working to criminalize health care decisions. Abortion is health care. It’s not a politician’s place to decide what a woman can and cannot do with her body.” 

Wolf is expected to be in Philadelphia on Thursday for an afternoon news conference with lawmakers and Planned Parenthood officials to “reaffirm that he will veto this damaging legislation,” according to a press released from his office.  

What did Democrats say?

Warren County Republican state Rep. Kathy Rapp co-sponsored the fetal remains and defended it on the House floor Wednesday, saying it only gives parents options following a miscarriage.

Democrats decried the bill as an invasion of privacy on women and claimed that it would force women to choose either cremation or burial of remains by a hospital or bear the costs of other options.  

“Women shouldn’t have burials forced on them,” said state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny County.  

State Rep. Melissa Shusterman, D-Chester County, called the bill an “incredibly invasive and misguided mandate,” a point rejected by state Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren County, who said the bill simply provides parents with an option and does not mandate anything.  

“It threatens the dignity and the privacy of anyone who has or will experience a miscarriage in this commonwealth,” Shusterman said.  

What does the bill require?

The bill states that if a fetal death occurs and a parent selects a location for the remains not offered by the healthcare facility the parent will be responsible for the costs of disposition. Otherwise, healthcare facilities will have to provide for the disposition of the remains through burial or cremation. 

No birth or death certificate is required under the bill.  

Anyone who violates the requirements under the bill would be subject to penalties imposed under the state’s Vital Statistics Law of 1953. 

Rapp, a bill co-sponsor, said the legislation would allow for fetal remains to be treated as any other unclaimed human remains and gives parents an option if they want to choose it.

She also responded to Democrats who said telling women who have suffered a miscarriage to sign papers on the remains would inflict more trauma.  

Reading from the state’s abortion law, Rapp said women must sign a consent form if they want to donate the remains from an abortion to medical research. “I see this as a double standard for those who oppose this bill,” she said.

 More:Bill to restrict abortion after Down syndrome diagnosis passes Pennsylvania House

More:Abortion fight ramps up in Pa. as Republicans advance anti-abortion bills. What laws would change

Personal stories 

A few hours of debate included Democratic female lawmakers sharing their personal stories involving miscarriages and one male legislator having his mic cut twice and then his time forfeited by House Speaker Bryan Cutler.  

State Rep. Jennifer O’Mara, D-Delaware County, recalled her twin miscarriage in March 2020 following in vitro fertilization. If she had been in a healthcare facility instead of at home when informed of her condition, O’Mara said she would have been forced to decide about the remains under the bill’s requirements. 

“I would be forced to relive that trauma not in the way that I decided, but in the way that 102 members of this chamber thought appropriate,” she said, referring to the majority needed in the 203-member House. 

Democratic state Rep. Liz Hanbidge of Montgomery County said she experienced severe bleeding at home after being told of her miscarriage and ended up in the hospital. If the bill was in place, she said, “that would have further added to my burden.”  

Sims gets cut off, twice

Democratic state Rep. Brian Sims from Philadelphia called the fetal remains bill "political theater that has plagued this chamber for far too long.” He was eventually cut off from speaking twice before having his time to speak forfeited by House Speaker Bryan Cutler.

It was comments from state Rep. Brian Sims, D-Philadelphia, that threw the House into turmoil.

A visibly angry Sims, an openly gay legislator who frequently clashes with Republicans, criticized the bill and lamented that his female colleagues felt compelled to share their personal stories to try and convince lawmakers to vote against the bill.  

“The cost of being a woman legislator in Pennsylvania,” said Sims, who said the legislation was part of “a political theater that has plagued this chamber for far too long.” 

Sims then turned his sights squarely on the GOP Caucus and accused it of “more unnecessary overreach” while saying it is entirely white. Cutler cut Sims off and House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff immediately objected to Sims’ comments, saying he would not have his caucus insulted.  

Cutler huddled with leaders from both parties for several minutes before returning and reading the debate rules to lawmakers, but, given another chance, Sims immediately repeated his comment about the racial makeup of the GOP Caucus.

An exasperated Cutler again cut Sims’ mic and, after more whispering among leaders, said Sims had forfeited his time by being persistently irrelevant in his remarks.  

More:Abortion fight in Pa.: Wolf says 'politics do not belong in a doctor's office'

J.D. Prose is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network's Pennsylvania State Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jprose@gannett.com.