Statute barring claim for "wrongful life" held to be
unconstitutional because of violation of the single-subject rule of the
Pennsylvania Constitution, Article III, sec. 3, which states that
“No bill shall be passed
containing more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its
title, except a general appropriation bill or a bill codifying or compiling the
law or a part thereof.” PA. CONST. art. III, § 3.7 The purpose of the creation of
Article III was “to place restraints on the legislative process and encourage
an open, deliberative and accountable government.” City of Philadelphia
v. Commonwealth, 575 Pa. 542, 573, 838 A.2d 566, 585 (2003) (citation
omitted).
This Article was
included in the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1874, which was drafted in an atmosphere
of extreme distrust of the legislative body and of fear of the growing power of
corporations, especially the great railroad corporations. It was the product of
a convention
whose prevailing mood
was one of reform[.] […] [A]s these mandates survived the more recent constitutional
revisions, they continue to reflect important policies relating to the nature
of the deliberative process. Id. at 573-74, 838 A.2d at 585-86
(internal citations and quotations
omitted).
The single-subject
requirement of Article III, Section 3 serves a variety of purposes, including:
(1) preventing the attachment of unpopular riders that would not become laws on
their own to popular bills that are sure to pass;8 (2) providing for a more
considered review of bills brought before the General Assembly, as a bill
addressing a variety of subjects is less likely to get such attention; and (3)
protecting the integrity of the Governor’s veto power.9 Id. at
574, 575 n.18, 838 A.2d at 586, 586 n.18.
