Tara Murtha
Tara Murtha is a writer and also serves as associate director of strategic communications at the Women’s Law Project, Pennsylvania’s only public-interest law center devoted to the rights of women and girls.
All Work
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Culture & Conversation Abortion
No, the Real ‘Abortion Divide’ Is Not Between Patients and Protesters
The abortion divide is between people who need and deserve abortion access and the well-funded movement colluding with lawmakers to push it out of reach.
Pennsylvania Lawmakers Square Off Over Abortion Law, New Bill
Anti-choice legislators in Pennsylvania recently pulled out all the stops when debating a bill that would be one of the nation's harshest abortion laws if passed. But in the wake of a recent Supreme Court ruling, other state lawmakers are trying to stop that bill and change existing policy.
Feds Approve Pennsylvania’s Medicaid ‘Expansion,’ But Concerns Remain (Updated)
While pleased that they may no longer have to refer to Pennsylvania as “the island of the uninsured,” advocates still have serious concerns with the Healthy PA plan.
Fate of Pennsylvania Buffer Zones Unclear
Currently, Pennsylvania has two enacted buffer zones, in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, and a proposed bill to establish buffer zones across the state. But like the legal fate of buffer zones in the country following the McCullen decision, the bill remains "in limbo."
Pennsylvania Law Requires Doctors to Read Scripts to Pregnant Patients With Prenatal Down Syndrome Diagnoses (Updated)
The state's latest government mandate on doctor's office communications requires doctors to read an as-yet-unwritten script to pregnant patients after delivering the diagnosis of prenatal Down syndrome.
How the Recent Obamacare Ruling Could Play Out in Pennsylvania’s Gubernatorial Race
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has branded himself as willing to risk almost anything to work against the Affordable Care Act. It will be interesting to see if that includes a second term.
Pennsylvania’s ‘Revenge Porn’ Bill Heads to Governor’s Desk
The Pennsylvania Women’s Health Caucus is poised to celebrate its first legislative victory: On Wednesday, the state house passed a law criminalizing “revenge porn.”
Pennsylvania’s Proposed Budget Funnels Even More Tax Dollars to Crisis Pregnancy Centers (Updated)
Even with a disastrous deficit of $1.4 billion, the proposed 2014-15 Pennsylvania budget is pouring more money into an anti-choice crisis pregnancy center network that recently made headlines for "failing to see a single client" in another state, despite a significant government contract there.
What Is Going on With Admitting Privileges Legislation in Pennsylvania?
The Pennsylvania Department of Health recently asked Planned Parenthood facilities in the state to submit transfer agreement and admitting privileges information, even though the state currently does not require clinics to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. A spokesperson said a department employee was acting on his or her own.
Pennsylvania Tightens Loophole in Rapist-Fathers’ Rights Law
A bill that would amend Pennsylvania law to tighten—but not close—a loophole enabling rapist-fathers to obtain custody and visitation rights over a child conceived in rape unanimously passed the Pennsylvania house.
Woman Dies After Being Sent to Pennsylvania Jail Over Unpaid Children’s Truancy Fines
The exact cause of her death, which, according to the Associated Press, occurred "hours after she surrendered to serve a 48-hour sentence," is unclear.
Pennsylvania Bill Will Make Sexual Assault by Sports Official a Specific Crime
Coaches and sports officials initiate predatory sexual relationships with the teenagers in their care so often that the Pennsylvania General Assembly created a new crime in order to try to address it as specifically as possible.
Coalition Urges Pennsylvania Lawmakers to Expand Medicaid to Solve Budget Crisis
While Gov. Tom Corbett insists Pennsylvania can’t afford Medicaid expansion, advocates argue Pennsylvania can’t afford not to expand Medicaid.
Pennsylvania Women’s Health Caucus Unveils Second Package of Bills
State lawmakers unveiled the second wave of bills introduced as part of Pennsylvania’s Agenda for Women’s Health, a pro-active legislative effort designed to address women’s health and economic equality.
Pennsylvania’s First Openly Gay Republican Politician Says Party Bias Led to Primary Defeat
Rep. Mike Fleck is navigating uncharted political waters in Pennsylvania. The state's first openly gay GOP lawmaker was defeated in the Republican primary—his first primary challenge since coming out of the closet in 2012—but he won the Democratic primary with a write-in campaign by just 15 votes.
Federal Judge Overturns Pennsylvania’s Ban on Same-Sex Marriage
Ten years after Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage, a federal judge announced a decision on same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
Pregnant Women Incarcerated in Pennsylvania Routinely Shackled, Despite Law
An investigation reveals that pregnant women incarcerated in Pennsylvania are routinely subjected to wearing leg shackles and handcuffs, including while laboring and giving birth, despite medical dangers and current law that says the practice is illegal in most circumstances.
Anti-Choice Democrat Inspires ‘Anti-Endorsement’ by National Pro-Choice Groups
In the lead-up to the primary for the 13th Congressional district in Pennsylvania, Democratic state Rep. Brendan F. Boyle has been making pro-choice campaign trail promises so contrary to his voting record that it’s inspired NARAL Pro-Choice America and Emily's List to team up to issue what amounts to an anti-endorsement.
A Look at the Affordable Care Act Enrollment Numbers
In states that didn't expand Medicaid, like Pennsylvania, the number of people left in the coverage gap exceeds the number of newly insured.
Another Pennsylvania Politician With Anti-Choice Record Stumps on Pro-Choice Platform
With two weeks to go until the May 20 Pennsylvania primary, and with analysts observing that single women are the key to success in this year’s elections, Rep. Brendan F. Boyle is the second Pennsylvania Democrat to stump on a woman’s right to choose despite having recently supported anti-choice legislation.
Three Penn State Hires Linked to Sex Abuse Cases at Other Schools
Two reports in as many weeks have revealed that three big hires at Pennsylvania State University, chosen in part to help the school move past the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse case, are linked to football-centered sexual assault cases at other schools.
Pennsylvania Politician Stumping on the Right to Choose Has Cast Key Anti-Choice Votes
Rep. Margo Davidson is campaigning for the upcoming Democratic primary on a pro-choice platform, but she has in the past voted for a bill that shut down abortion clinics in the state as well as for a law banning insurers from selling policies that cover abortion care through the state's insurance exchange.
Complaints Filed Against Pennsylvania Colleges Alleging Discrimination Against Female Athletes
The Women’s Law Project has filed complaints with the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education against nine of 14 members of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, claiming that the colleges have discriminated against female athletes.
The Western Pennsylvania Primary Battle That’s a Race for Women’s Health
One of the most exciting state house races in Pennsylvania this year is a primary race between two Democrats, Reps. Harry Readshaw and Erin Molchany, for House District 36 in Pittsburgh.
Survey: Most Pennsylvanians Want State to Accept Medicaid Expansion
A new survey reveals that 59 percent of Pennsylvanians want Republican Gov. Tom Corbett to accept federal funds to expand Medicaid.
Pennsylvania Considers Navigator Bill That Could Sabotage Affordable Care Act Enrollment
Pennsylvania lawmakers have proposed legislation that experts say would hinder the ACA enrollment process and would be illegal under new federal regulations that are likely to pass in the near future.
Delaware Doctor Who Worked With Gosnell May Get His License Back
A Delaware doctor, Arturo Apolinario, whose license was suspended during the investigation against Kermit Gosnell, may get his license back, even if only to retire.
The Quiet Fight for Same-Sex Divorce
Many thousands of same-sex couples have gotten married in the United States; as a simple fact of modern life, a good number of them will get divorced. But many couples are finding that they're “wedlocked”—they got married in a state where same-sex marriage is legal, but either live in or moved to a state where the practice is banned, and therefore cannot get a divorce.
Pennsylvania Governor to Sign Bill Helping Protect Sexual Assault Survivors From Stalking, Harassment
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is poised to sign a bill into law that will enable more sexual assault survivors and young stalking and harassment victims to obtain protection from abuse orders. Under current state law, only a small subset of rape survivors qualify for such orders.
Former Gosnell Employee Sherry West Sentenced
West, a former medical assistant at Kermit Gosnell's "house of horrors" clinic in West Philadelphia, has been sentenced to five to ten years.
The Problem With Obamacare for Some Transgender Policyholders
Despite the gender-identity nondiscrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act, doctors say some insurance companies are rejecting coverage of basic preventive care.
Pennsylvania Gradually Easing off Job Requirement in Medicaid Non-Expansion Plan
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett had hoped to make the state the first to tether job-search requirements to Medicaid eligibility.
Third Pennsylvania Judge Rules Juvenile Sex Offender Registration Unconstitutional
Judges from York, Monroe, and Lancaster counties have now all written opinions stating that the law fails to take juveniles' greater capacity for reform into account.
Pennsylvania Legislator Introduces Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
In the wake of similar protections recently passed in Philadelphia, Rep. Mark Painter has introduced HB 1892, dubbed the Pennsylvania Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, in the state house.
Pennsylvania Woman Arrested for Ordering Daughter Abortion-Inducing Pills Online
The logical outcome of the current anti-choice strategy is arrests of pregnant women and the people who try to help them: Coerce women into the black market by reducing the number of legal abortion providers, and then leave them to the prosecutors.
Gosnell Clinic Employee Sentenced to Six to 12 Years
For five years, Steven Massof worked with Kermit Gosnell, the rogue abortion doctor who earlier this year was convicted of first-degree murder for killing babies born alive in his West Philadelphia clinic. On Wednesday, Massof was sentenced to six to 12 years for his role in the "house of horrors."
When ‘He Wasn’t Convicted’ Doesn’t Mean ‘Innocent’
When it comes to childhood sexual assault, there is a heavy thumb on the scales of justice. To trot out “but he wasn’t convicted” as definitive proof of innocence against the backdrop of this system amounts to willful ignorance.
Philadelphia Tightens Pregnancy Discrimination Laws
Following the amendment of the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance, city employers are now required to provide “reasonable” workplace accommodations for pregnant employees, such as access to water and bathroom breaks.
On Buffer Zones and ‘Peaceful’ Clinic Protesters
What relatively peaceful anti-choice protesters may not understand is that their behavior is relative: They’re a physical representation of threats that have already been made, and in some cases executed, in the past and online.
Report: Women in Pennsylvania’s ‘Coverage Gap’ Lack Critical Preventive Care
The biggest disparity among Pennsylvania women with and without health insurance was found regarding access to Pap smears and mammograms.
Correcting False Reports: Eight Abortion Clinics Have Not Closed in Pennsylvania Since 2012
On Monday, an anti-choice website incorrectly noted that eight abortion clinics in Pennsylvania have closed since 2012, misinformation that was picked up by credible news outlets that in some cases attributed the two closures to Act 122—another misstep.
Pennsylvania Lawmaker Promotes Discrimination on MLK Day
State Rep. Gordon Denlinger is circulating a co-sponsorship memo seeking support in his effort to amend the state constitution from punishing a person or employer for making any kind of discriminatory decision.
Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee Passes ‘Revenge Porn’ Bill
Introduced by the co-chair of the General Assembly’s newly unveiled Women's Health Caucus, the bill frames revenge porn as a form of intimate partner harassment.
Pennsylvania Abortion Statistics: The Distorted View From the Anti-Choice Lobby
Anti-choice advocates and lobbyists are calling the slight decrease in the number of abortions performed in Pennsylvania in 2012 “good news for women.” Is it really?
Beyond Little Sisters: The Argument Against Signing the Contraception Mandate Exemption Form
Little Sisters has been getting a lot of attention as an example of how conservatives' battle against the Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate looks more like culture-war ritual than a good-faith effort to productively resolve the conflict between church and state. But there are many other, more typical cases.
Don’t Call Pennsylvania’s Proposed Medicaid Plan an ‘Expansion’
In short, Healthy PA would extend some coverage to Pennsylvanians in the health-care gap, but it doesn’t expand the Medicaid program, and would reduce benefits of current enrollees.
Pennsylvania’s New Medicaid Plan Likely to Reduce Access to Birth Control for Low-Income Women
The plan will result in less access to affordable, consistent birth control for the poor working women of Pennsylvania—which, as the federal birth control mandate demonstrates, is counter to the intention of health-care reform.
Kermit Gosnell Gets 30 More Years on Drug Charges
Gosnell, the rogue abortion doctor who earlier this year was convicted of first-degree murder for killing babies born alive in his West Philadelphia clinic as well as involuntary manslaughter for the death of a patient, was sentenced Monday to 30 years for running a pill mill out of the same building.
Pennsylvania Nurse Accused of Giving Teen Medication Abortion Pills
A Pennsylvania nurse has been accused of “performing an illegal abortion on a 16-year-old girl,” according to a local report out of Montour county.
Pennsylvania’s New ‘Women’s Health Caucus’ Unveils Package of Pro-Active Bills
Wednesday morning, the Pennsylvania legislature’s Women’s Health Caucus—just established this spring—unveiled its first enterprise: a package of bills that pro-actively address women’s physical health, financial security, and personal safety.
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