The ultimate goal of Sen. Lindsey Graham's 15-week federal abortion ban is to criminalize abortions in states that continue to protect the rights of women after the overturn of Roe vs. Wade on June 24. Anti-choice legislators won't stop at 15 weeks. 

Efforts to restrict abortion started soon after Roe was passed in 1973. These restrictions increased exponentially over the past 10 years. If the 15-week ban is passed, the gestational age will continue to be rolled back until fertilization; following Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Wisconsin, South Dakota, and Idaho. There is a real threat that Pennsylvania will be next. 

This summer, the state House and Senate advanced Senate Bill 106, bringing Pennsylvania one step closer to changes in our state constitution that will criminalize abortion. Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz will support this harmful, short-sighted bill. Mehmet Oz will not protect our rights. He has already said that he believes all abortion is murder, beginning at fertilization. We need to elect Democratic candidates like John Fetterman for U.S. Senate and Josh Shapiro for governor. They have proven throughout their careers that they will protect abortion access and allow patients to make medical decisions with their physicians.

Karen Feisullin, MD

Chestnut Hill