The Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania Senate District 37, Nicole Ruscitto, supports reproductive rights. Ruscitto says that “your healthcare choices should be between you and your doctor – bottom line.”

According to her campaign website, “Nicole supports policies that would ensure comprehensive access to reproductive healthcare services, including contraception, abortion, and maternal health resources.”

Ruscitto has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania PAC, a state affiliate of the nation’s leading reproductive health advocacy organization. In order to receive an endorsement from the group, a candidate typically has to pledge to support pro-choice policies. 

Ruscitto is running against Republican incumbent Sen. Devlin Robinson, whom she says is “one of the Commonwealth’s most anti-choice legislators.” Robinson was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate in 2020. 

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the issue of abortion access was left up to the states. In 2022, Pennsylvania’s Republican-led legislature voted for Senate Bill 106, which, if passed by the legislature a second time and approved by voters, would have added language to the state’s constitution to say that it does not guarantee a right to abortion. 

Sen. Robinson voted in favor of the bill which, had the effort been successful, would have meant that any laws restricting abortion access could not be challenged in state court. He has also touted receiving the “highest rating” from Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, Inc., an anti-choice organization that opposes abortion and reproductive freedom legislation. 

Updated September 30, 2024.