{"id":7201,"date":"2021-05-10T19:37:48","date_gmt":"2021-05-10T19:37:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/wordpress\/lavie\/?p=7201"},"modified":"2021-05-10T19:37:48","modified_gmt":"2021-05-10T19:37:48","slug":"pennsylvania-needs-to-have-a-heart-and-not-stop-a-heartbeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/2021\/05\/10\/pennsylvania-needs-to-have-a-heart-and-not-stop-a-heartbeat\/","title":{"rendered":"Editorial: Pennsylvania needs to have a heart and not stop a heartbeat"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Tyler Nell \u201821, staff writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pennsylvania. We consider ourselves the middle ground state. The purple state that both parties battle over every election cycle, with Democrats in the east and west corners and Republicans in-between. Yet while being such a battleground state, we like to consider ourselves a state where we value the lives of our citizens above all politics. It is why Gov. Wolf instituted measures at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>\u2014to make sure the lives and health of Pennsylvanians are not put at risk and that the death toll is not any higher than it already has been. With 26,307 deaths caused by COVID-19, it is understandable why our governor would be as concerned as he was about the spread of this horrendous disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top of this, Gov. Wolf has gone on record many times advocating for the health and well-being of the children of Pennsylvania. As of March this year, the Wolf Administration announced plans for $303 million to support childcare providers across Pennsylvania.<\/a> This, of course, has not been the only time Gov. Wolf has gone on record proclaiming his work for the children of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur schools and our children have been my top priority since day one,\u201d Gov. Wolf said in 2019 on his official Facebook page<\/a>. \u201cIn my first term, we restored $1 billion in funding to education, implemented a fair funding formula, and provided unprecedented support to high-quality pre-k programs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such efforts and goals are noble on Gov. Wolf\u2019s behalf, and I commend him for taking such initiative. However, what is more vital is that Gov. Wolf shows the same compassion and care for an even more vulnerable demographic: the unborn. As of February this year, State Representative Stephanie Borowicz <\/a>said she would introduce a Pennsylvania Heartbeat bill \u2018soon.\u2019<\/a> She would collaborate with Sen. Doug Mastriano and Sen. Rudy Ward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Borowicz\u2019s endeavor has been inspired by other states who have proposed and passed similar bills, such as Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama and Kentucky. The South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat Protection from Abortion Act is the legislation referenced by Mastriano and Borowicz specifically, which “prohibits the performance of an abortion if a fetal heartbeat is detected,” except for a few limited cases, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n