By Katie Muth, Maria Collett and Lindsey Williams

This week marks the end of General Assistance (GA) as we know it. The life-saving program that has helped thousands of Pennsylvanians get back on their feet and bridge the gap to self-sustainability ended on Aug. 1.

After a difficult battle through the legislative process and an underhanded maneuver to tie the elimination of GA to millions of dollars of hospitals, we accept that the program will cease to exist. However, that does not mean that the need has vanished.

Executions have become a rarity in Pennsylvania with Governor Tom Wolf instituting a moratorium on the death penalty. Now, some lawmakers want to take it a step further and abolish the death penalty in the state.

A Pennsylvania inmate has not been executed this century with the last one happening in 1999, but there are still plenty of inmates sitting on death row and some lawmakers think it’s doing more harm than good.

LOWER POTTSGROVE — Attorney General Josh Shapiro was in Lower Pottsgrove Friday to discuss reproductive rights and Title X funding.

“Every day we are fighting in court to protect women’s rights and particularly to protect healthcare and reproductive rights. Fights that we’ve won, 20, 30, 40 years ago, we’re fighting again,” Democrat Shapiro said to the group.

Democratic lawmakers in Pennsylvania have announced legislation that would abolish the death penalty in the state.

In presenting the Death Penalty Repeal Act, legislators argued that too many innocent inmates wound up death row due to an imperfect justice system.