When asked in 2019 if he said women should be charged with murder for violating an abortion ban he proposed, Doug Mastriano, now a Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, replied: “Yes I am.”
Mastriano was speaking to WITF, a radio station, about a bill he sponsored as a state senator.
The bill would have banned most abortions when a fetal heartbeat could be detected, which is usually about six weeks into the pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.
Mastriano was asked: “You can tell me yes or no about it. This woman who decided to have an abortion, which would be considered an illegal abortion, would she be charged with murder? »
Mastriano said: “OK, let’s get back to the basic question there. Is [a fetus] a human? Is it a little boy or a little girl? If so, he deserves equal protection under the law.
We asked him: “So you say yes?
Mastriano said“Yes. If it’s a human being, if it’s an American citizen over there, a little baby, no matter what nationality, it deserves equal rights under the law.
NBC News reported the remark on Tuesday. Mastriano did not immediately comment.
Wow. NBC secured an interview in 2019 with Republican candidate for Pennsylvania governor Doug Mastriano.
Q: Are you saying that a woman who has decided to have an abortion [under your proposed bill] should be charged with murder?
A: “Yes, I am.” https://t.co/ffuPrzoWiR pic.twitter.com/78HeuxX8cJ
—Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) September 27, 2022
Monday he Told the conservative Real America’s Voice network: “My opinions are kind of irrelevant because I can’t rule by fiat, edict or fiat on the matter of life.
“It’s up to the people of Pennsylvania to decide. So if Pennsylvanians want exceptions, if they want to limit the number of weeks, it will have to come from your legislative body and then from my office.
Mastriano has been plagued with controversy, particularly over his links to the January 6 uprising.
According to polling site fivethirtyeight.com, the Republican trails Josh Shapiro, his Democratic challenger for the governor’s mansion, by more than 10 points.
In June, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that guaranteed the right to abortion.
Since then, Democrats have won a number of striking electoral successes fueled by the issue of abortion rights, including in Republican areas such as Kansas.
Amid reports of an increase in women’s voter registration, Democrats are seeking to put abortion rights at the heart of the midterm elections in November, when they seek to retain the Congressional control.
Republicans, including Mastriano, have tried to downplay the issue and instead focus on economic messages.
On Tuesday, Shapiro seized on Mastriano’s remarks in 2019.
The Democrat tweeted“We knew Doug Mastriano would ban abortion in Pennsylvania without exception – even for rape, incest, or the life of the mother. We knew he would send doctors to jail for performing them.
“Now we know he would charge women who have abortions with murder.”
