27 Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s laws and protections for LGBTQ+/queer people have advanced mostly in light of federal rulings in the U.S. Supreme Court. Same-sex marriage became legally recognized in PA in May 2014, when a district court judge ruled the state’s previous ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. In June 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that people in every state can seek compensation for gender identity-related or sexual orientation-related employment discrimination through the federal court system and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In April 2023, the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee passed a bill to ban any discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, but said bill has not yet passed in the state Senate.
Although nondiscrimination laws and policies apply to LGBTQ+ students in PA, state curricular standards are not required to be LGBTQ+ inclusive, and there are no specific anti-bullying or anti-abuse laws and policies for LGBTQ+ students. Conversion therapy has been banned in most areas, beginning in 2016 with Pittsburg, but there are no specific protections for LGBTQ+ youth in the child welfare system (Read more here). In June 2022, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a bill banning transgender athletes from competing in sports and the Olympics on female teams, but the bill was vetoed by Governor Tom Wolf a month later.
Reproductive healthcare including abortion is mostly protected in Pennsylvania as of late 2023, but difficult to access due to many state-imposed barriers. Abortions after the 23rd week of pregnancy are permitted only when the pregnant person’s health is threatened. People seeking abortions are subject to counseling and a day-long waiting period, both public funding and private insurance coverage for abortions are limited, and minors must seek parental/guardian/court approval before receiving an abortion (Center for Reproductive Rights). Many activist efforts in Pennsylvania, including ACLU Pennsylvania and the Women’s Law Project seek to protect the legal right to reproductive healthcare, especially abortion, and to reduce barriers to receiving reproductive healthcare.