Rep. James Haddock, first elected to represent House District 118 in 2022, has stated that he believes in a woman’s right to choose, and he would protect that right in the State House. “Women have a right to reproductive care, and [I] will lead the effort to keep it that way,” Haddock says.

According to Rep. Haddock’s campaign website, “radical politicians in the Commonwealth and across the country are trying to take away the rights of women and interfere with private medical decisions that belong between a woman and her doctor. Jim Haddock stands up to these extremists who seek to strip away the rights of women and will fight any effort in Harrisburg that would criminalize women and doctors for seeking medical care.” 

Rep. Haddock has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania PAC, the electoral arm of Pennsylvania’s leading reproductive rights advocacy group, which supports pro-choice candidates. 

The Republican candidate in the race is McKayla Kathio. Kathio’s stance on abortion remains unclear -- there is no mention of it on her website and it does not appear that she has addressed it publicly -- which is fairly unusual for such a significant issue. However, Kathio has aligned her campaign with Donald Trump, who has bragged about his role in overturning Roe v. Wade.

Ever since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a wave of legislative action swept Republican legislatures across the country to restrict abortion rights. 

In Pennsylvania, in 2022, the Republican-controlled legislature passed SB 106, a series of proposed amendments that, if passed again and voted upon by the electorate, would have amended the Pennsylvania Constitution to say that it does not guarantee any rights to an abortion. Without this constitutional protection, any restrictive abortion laws limiting access to reproductive care would not be able to be challenged in the courts. Kathio would be joining the same Republican caucus – the majority of whom voted for this restrictive abortion bill.

Updated September 5, 2024.