在通过共和党控制的立法机构后，宾夕法尼亚州州长汤姆·沃尔夫周四否决了一项禁止因唐氏综合症产前诊断堕胎的法案。
公开支持堕胎权的民主党人沃尔夫也在2017年拒绝了一项禁止20周后选择性堕胎的措施。宾夕法尼亚州法律目前允许怀孕24周以内的堕胎，除非选择性别。
宾夕法尼亚州计划生育倡导者称该提案是该州禁止堕胎的违宪尝试，并表示该立法几乎不可能实施。
沃尔夫州长在一份声明中写道，该法案是对女性和医疗专业人员的限制，干涉了女性的医疗保健以及患者和医生之间的关键决策。
沃尔夫说:“医生和他们的病人必须能够根据最佳实践和护理标准来选择医疗程序。”。
“没有证据表明宾夕法尼亚州需要这项法案。我非常担心这项立法的实施会颠覆医患关系，妨碍病人的保密性，”他继续说。
支持该法案的人为其辩护，称其保护了生活富有成效的弱势群体。宾夕法尼亚家庭研究所是一个反对堕胎的倡导组织，该组织声称，医学专业人士在唐氏综合症诊断后对妇女施加了堕胎压力。
反对者认为，这项立法会侵犯妇女自行决定堕胎的权利。
“[·宾夕法尼亚”是威廉·佩恩在良心自由的基础上创立的。我们吸引了来自世界各地的人，基于他们可以自己做大多数个人决定的想法。我认为，确保女性继续有权做出自己的决定是符合这一传统的，”沃尔夫州长在2018年说。
沃尔夫州长也在声明中向残疾人权利团体发表了讲话。
“此外，我不知道有哪个残疾人权利团体支持这项法案。我支持继续两党合作来帮助残疾人。我也相信宾夕法尼亚州可以做更多的事情来帮助面临复杂怀孕的妇女和家庭。然而，这项法案对这两项努力都没有帮助，”他写道。
唐氏综合症是一种人有额外染色体的疾病。通常，婴儿出生时有46条染色体，但唐氏综合症婴儿有21条染色体的拷贝。这种额外的拷贝改变了身体和大脑的发育方式，这可能会带来精神和身体上的挑战。
唐氏综合征的检测通常在妊娠的前三个月进行，包括血液检测和超声波扫描，但也有无创性产前检测和妊娠中期母体血清筛查。
唐氏综合征是美国诊断的最常见的染色体疾病。每年，大约有6000名出生在美国的婴儿患有唐氏综合症，这意味着每700名婴儿中就有一名患有唐氏综合症。
PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR VETOES BILL THAT WOULD BAN ABORTIONS AFTER FETUS DIAGNOSED WITH DOWN SYNDROME
After passing the Republican-controlled Legislature, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf vetoed a bill on Thursday that would have prohibited abortions over a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome.
Wolf, a Democrat who openly supports abortion rights, also rejected a measure in 2017 that would have prohibited elective abortions after 20 weeks. Pennsylvania law currently allows abortions for up to 24 weeks of pregnancy for any reason, except to select a gender.
Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania advocates called the proposal an unconstitutional attempt to ban abortion in the state, and said the legislation would be nearly impossible to enforce.
Gov. Wolf wrote in a statement addressing his veto that the legislation is a restriction on women and medical professionals and interfered with women's health care and the crucial decision-making between patients and their physicians.
"Physicians and their patients must be able to make choices about medical procedures based on best practices and standards of care," Wolf said.
"There is no evidence that this bill is needed in Pennsylvania. I have significant concerns that enforcement of this legislation would upend the doctor-patient relationship and impede on patient confidentiality," he continued.
Those who support the bill have defended it as protecting a vulnerable population whose lives are productive. One anti-abortion advocacy group, the Pennsylvania Family Institute, claimed that medical professionals have pressured women to have abortions after a Down syndrome diagnosis.
Opponents argued the legislation would have violated a woman's right to make their own decisions about abortion.
"[Pennsylania] was founded by William Penn, on the basis of freedom of conscience. We attracted people from all over the world, based on the idea that they could make their own, most personal decisions. Making sure that women continue to have the right to make their own decisions, I think, is right in line with that tradition," Gov. Wolf said in 2018.
"Further, I am not aware of a single disability rights group that supports this bill. I support continuing the bipartisan work that's been done to help people with disabilities. I also believe there is much more Pennsylvania could do to help women and families facing complex pregnancies. However, this bill does not aid in either of these efforts," he wrote.
Down syndrome is a condition where a person has an extra chromosome. Typically, a baby is born with 46 chromosomes but babies with Down syndrome have a copy of chromosome 21. This extra copy changes how the body and brain develop, which can create both mental and physical challenges.
Testing for Down syndrome is commonly done in the first trimester with a combined blood test and ultrasound scan, but there's also a non-invasive prenatal testing and a second trimester maternal serum screening.
Down syndrome is the most common chromosomal condition diagnosed in the United States. Each year, about 6,000 babies born in the U.S. have Down syndrome, meaning it occurs in 1 out of every 700 babies.
