Philadelphia to consider local abortion access protections

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Members of the Philadelphia City Council say they’re planning to introduce legislation aimed at protecting access to abortions inside city limits — including a bill proponents said would be one of the nation’s strongest privacy protection laws. The legislation announced Wednesday would bar the voluntary sharing of information about reproductive health choices for the purpose of prosecution or civil lawsuits and update the city’s antidiscrimination employment laws to protect reproductive health decisions among other measures. The move comes after the June U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade and less than two months before a midterm election that could decide the future of abortion access in Pennsylvania.