Susie Blum Connors never considered the surgery that saved her life three times an abortion.
That's because it wasn't.
The 74-year-old Scranton woman had three life-threatening ectopic pregnancies treated with emergency procedures in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade abortion right ruling in 2022, confusion over the legality of the procedure to remove an ectopic pregnancy has prevented women across the country from getting care in potentially deadly situations.
NPR reported that doctors in Texas waited to perform the procedure until there was a rupture, severely endangering women's lives. Texas allows abortions only if the life of the mother is at risk.
Connors joined U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright’s campaign this summer at a roundtable event to advocate for reproductive freedom ahead of the election. She hopes sharing her story will show lawmakers the many layers to women’s health that go beyond the typical abortion debate.
According to the National Institutes of Health, an ectopic pregnancy occurs outside of the uterus, most often in the fallopian tubes. Ectopic pregnancies cannot continue normally and must be treated because they can severely threaten a the woman’s life. As the fertilized egg grows in a place not made to hold a fetus, a rupture could cause severe internal bleeding.
The removal of an ectopic pregnancy resembles an abortion, creating confusion in states with abortion bans.
Connors is sure she would have died without the procedures, but never thought of them as abortions because the fetuses were never viable.
“It never crossed my mind until Roe v Wade was overturned and I heard more about what an abortion is, and I dread to think what would have happened if I wasn't afforded [treatment]," she said. "I would have died.”
Now a mother and grandmother, Connors worries about the future of reproductive healthcare should her granddaughters go through what she did.
“To think that my grandchildren don't have the same rights that I had and that their mother had, we're going backwards. We have to go forward, not back,” she said.
Abortion remains legal in Pennsylvania despite the US Supreme Court’s decision. Women can legally have an abortion up to the 23rd week of pregnancy. Exceptions apply after that if a mother's life is in danger.
Pennsylvania also has an executive order to protect people from out-of-state seeking reproductive health care when their state has an abortion ban.
The legality of abortion is not guaranteed in Pennsylvania. State General Assembly Republicans have attempted to outlaw abortion for years.
'To think that my grandchildren don't have the same rights that I had and that their mother had, we're going backwards. We have to go forward, not back,' said Susie Blum Connors.
In 2022, state Senate Republicans pushed legislation to restrict elective abortions. The bill read, “there is no right to abortion or funding for an abortion.”
Now, Democrats control the state House by one vote, while Republicans have the Senate majority. Democrats worry what could happen if they lose the House majority.
Democratic state Rep. Bridget Malloy Kosierowski believes her Republican colleagues would push anti-abortion legislation.
“In Pennsylvania, we have to pay attention to this, because we're safe here now, but we have a razor-thin majority of those that protect women's right to choose,” Kosierowski said. “And if that goes away, then that access to care, to that healthcare, and that choice for women goes away as well.”
Kosierowski, still a licensed nurse, practiced for 25 years before serving as a representative and knows the urgency of many women’s situations. Her advocacy comes from experience.
“I worked in operating rooms where people made elective choices, and people had emergency procedures done, but never did I ever have to speak to a legislature [or] an attorney before letting that patient have that decision,” she said. “We don't have time to turn to the legislature and say, ‘Hey, is this legal? Is this lady sick enough for us to do this procedure? Or should we send her home until she is in more pain and more dangerously ill,’ and then we can proceed with the procedure.”
Cartwright, up for reelection in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, expressed his worry over abortion protections at the federal level if Republicans take control of both chambers. He wants to continue fighting for reproductive rights to ensure women in Pennsylvania and beyond have access to the medical care they need.
“Existing protections in Pennsylvania could change on a dime, and that's why I support codifying Roe,” he said. “Our daughters now have fewer freedoms than their mothers and their grandmothers, and we know that full abortion bans are in place in parts of the United States with extremely limited exceptions, and it's leading to tragic consequences."
He compared himself to his opponent, businessman Rob Bresnahan, calling him “an opponent who is celebrating the overturning of Roe.”
Bresnahan praised the Dobbs decision at an event this summer in Old Forge. He said he supports Pennsylvania’s current abortion laws, but “Dobbs did exactly what it should do and put it back to the states.”
In a statement, Bresnahan told WVIA News he does not support a national abortion ban or a ban after six weeks.
“Instead, I stand by the current protections in Pennsylvania, where the Dobbs decision returned the issue," he said. "Additionally, I believe we should ensure IVF treatments are available for those looking to start a family. If people in other states have concerns about their local laws, they should address them with their local representatives. My focus remains solely on serving the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania.”
