PA Gov. Candidate Mastriano Wanted People Who Get Abortions To Be Charged With Murder

Topline

Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano (R) said in 2019 he believed people who underwent abortions in violation of a proposed state-level ban should be charged with murder, in an interview NBC News unearthed Tuesday, highlighting the extreme nature of the GOP candidate’s anti-abortion views as he’s backed away from them on the campaign trail.

Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano speaks on September 3 in … [+] Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

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Key Facts

Mastriano, a state senator, spoke with local radio station WITF in November 2019 about an abortion ban he introduced in the state legislature, which would have banned the procedure after approximately six weeks into a pregnancy and only allowed exceptions for medical emergencies and not rape or incest.

He was asked whether people who get abortions in violation of the ban would be charged with murder under the law, to which Mastriano emphasized that the embryo being a “little human being” means it “deserves equal protection under the law.”

Asked whether that meant he was saying yes, he does believe people would be charged with murder, Mastriano responded, “Yes, I am.”

Mastriano’s comments go further than abortion bans that have taken effect thus far in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, which typically include explicit provisions stating the law should only punish people who perform abortions and not people who get them.

Mastriano’s gubernatorial race against Democratic state Attorney General Josh Shapiro is one of the most consequential midterm races for abortion rights, as Mastriano has vowed to would sign any abortion ban the state’s GOP-controlled legislature passes into law while Shapiro would veto it and keep abortion legal.

Mastriano’s office has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Crucial Quote

“If it’s a human being, if there’s an American citizen there, a little baby—I don’t care what nationality it is—it deserves equal rights under the law,” Mastriano said in the 2019 interview.

What To Watch For

Mastriano will go up against Shapiro in November in the gubernatorial race. The GOP lawmaker faces long odds, however: recent polling has favored Shapiro by double digits and the Democrat has vastly outraised Mastriano, and the New York Times reports Mastriano is receiving no support from the Republican Governors’ Association, as other GOP candidates are, despite earning support from key national figures like former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Key Background

Abortion is currently legal in Pennsylvania until 24 weeks into a pregnancy, as Gov. Tom Wolf (D) has so far used his veto power to block the state legislature from banning abortion, and Shapiro and Mastriano’s opposing views on the issue have become a central part of their gubernatorial race. Mastriano’s 2019 comments are one of a number the GOP candidate has made in favor of banning abortion, also saying in recent months the issue is “the single most important issue of our lifetime,” he “doesn’t give a way for exceptions” to abortion bans and that he would “move with alacrity” to outlaw the procedure if elected. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe, however, Mastriano is one of a number of anti-abortion rights GOP candidates who have toned down their rhetoric on the issue, given the fact abortion rights are broadly popular with the electorate. Mastriano has more recently emphasized that he cannot unilaterally ban abortion as governor, shirking responsibility for any abortion bans that could come after he’s elected. “”My views are kind of irrelevant because I cannot rule by fiat or edict or executive order on the issue of life,” Mastriano said in an interview with Real America Voice released Monday.

Topline

Key Facts

Crucial Quote

What To Watch For

Key Background

Further Reading