Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Across the nation, a grim preview of what could happen if abortion is outlawed in Pa. | Editorial

Cases in Ohio, Texas, and elsewhere offer a window into what pregnant people in the commonwealth will face if Doug Mastriano is elected governor in November.

State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor, has called ending abortion “the most important issue of our lifetime.”
State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor, has called ending abortion “the most important issue of our lifetime.”Read moreCAROLYN KASTER / AP

It didn’t take long for fallout from the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade to become a harbinger of what could happen in Pennsylvania if Doug Mastriano is elected governor.

A 10-year-old incest victim in Ohio was forced to travel to Indiana to get an abortion. An 18-year-old girl in Texas who wanted an abortion is instead caring for twins. A 13-year-old girl in Texas traveled hours to New Mexico to get an abortion after she was raped by her grandfather. Another 13-year-old girl from Texas was turned away from overbooked abortion clinics in Oklahoma and Arkansas — she also went to New Mexico.

Traffic to telehealth abortion websites jumped 456% after the Supreme Court draft opinion was leaked in May. Demand for pills that end a pregnancy has skyrocketed since the ruling. Appointments at abortion clinics in states where abortion is legal have surged and is overwhelming some clinics here in Philadelphia and elsewhere.

Mastriano’s extreme views on abortion would likely become law since Republicans control the House and Senate in Pennsylvania.

The mad scramble to get abortions further illustrates the court’s flawed legal logic in leaving it up to the states to create a patchwork of laws surrounding an individual right that should be guaranteed nationally. It also offers a scary window into what pregnant people in Pennsylvania will face if Mastriano is elected governor in November.

Mastriano is an extreme right-wing ideologue who said banning abortion is his “number one” issue. Every legislative session since his election to the state Senate in 2019, Mastriano has sponsored a bill that would outlaw abortions even in the case of rape, incest, or the health of the mother. “I don’t give a way for exceptions,” he said during a Republican primary debate.

» READ MORE: How overturning ‘Roe v. Wade’ will affect abortion access in Pa., NJ

Mastriano also supports criminal penalties for health-care providers who perform abortions. “I’m the most pro-life guy out there,” he said during an appearance on convicted Trump political adviser Steve Bannon’s podcast.

Mastriano’s extreme views on abortion would likely become law since Republicans control the House and Senate in Pennsylvania.

If Mastriano’s rebukes of the 2020 election, LGBTQ rights, and the Muslim community weren’t concerning enough, his perspective on reproductive issues is clearly out of step with the majority of Pennsylvanians who support some access to abortion, according a recent poll. That may explain why Mastriano has deleted dozens of social media posts since beginning his gubernatorial campaign, including one where he called ending abortion “the most important issue of our lifetime.”

Poor pregnant people who don’t have the resources to travel to other states for the procedure would be hurt the most if Pennsylvania outlawed abortions.

» READ MORE: A Deep Divide | The next Pa. governor will decide the future of abortion here. Shapiro and Mastriano’s records are wildly different.

Imagine the impact on Black women, who are already more than three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women, according to the CDC. Their higher death rate is higher due to disparities in access to quality care and historic racism embedded in this country’s health-care system.

Banning abortion nationwide would lead to a 21% increase in pregnancy-related deaths, one study found. It would also create more inequality. One landmark study found that women denied access to an abortion had a greater chance of living below the poverty line, and experienced more bankruptcies, tax liens, and evictions.

Women denied access to abortions also suffer from increased mental health issues, including higher rates of anxiety and lower self-esteem, according to the American Psychological Association.

After all the harm women will endure if abortion is banned, the sad truth is that curtailing abortion rights will not prevent most abortions from happening. As one study found, it will only make them less safe.

Damage from the Supreme Court’s ruling has already been done, but voters in Pennsylvania can prevent that mistake from leading to even worse consequences here.