Anti-abortion lawmakers protest Wolf nominee at State Dept.

    Forty-nine lawmakers who oppose abortion rights are registering concern over Gov. Tom Wolf’s nomination of Pedro Cortes as secretary of state.

    The Republican legislators said in a Friday letter to the Democratic governor that Cortes didn’t do enough to stop the horrific practices at a former Philadelphia abortion clinic whose owner is serving life in prison for killing babies who were born alive.

    Cortes previously served as secretary of state in the Rendell administration, a job that includes overseeing professional boards, including the state Board of Medicine.

    Some state employees resigned or were fired because of Dr. Kermit Gosnell’s clinic, but not Cortes. He wasn’t charged with wrongdoing.

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    Wolf says the suggestion that Cortes is responsible in any way for Gosnell’s action is offensive and he stands by the nomination.

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