Claim: Doug Mastriano will make all abortions illegal and charge people who got abortions with murders if elected Governor of Pennsylvania.

In September 2022, Pennsylvania Governor Candidate Josh Shapiro posted a tweet implying that his opponent for PA Governor, Doug Mastriano, wants to make all abortion illegal and charge women who receive abortions with murder. Doug Mastriano’s reproductive rights policy and comments in past press events allude to his plans to restrict abortion access if elected as Governor of Pennsylvania.

Amidst a heated race for governor in Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, the Democratic candidate, posted a series of tweets that were aimed at Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano’s reproductive rights stance. One of his tweets posted on September 27th, 2022 claimed that Doug Mastriano would charge women with murder if they had an abortion.

Doug Mastriano made it clear in the Spring 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial debate that his number one issue is tackling abortion. He released a statement on the impending overturn of Roe v. Wade in May 2022, “Once the repeal of Roe v. Wade is official, I am calling on the General Assembly [of Pennsylvania] to hold a vote on the Heartbeat bill. The time is now for action to protect the rights of the unborn.” His campaign website promises his voters that “To protect the right to life, Mastriano will sign the Heartbeat bill into law, end funding to Planned Parenthood, and expand counseling for adoption services.”

In the Pennsylvania gubernatorial debate on April 22nd, 2022, Mastriano stated that his number one priority is banning abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother. In his response, Mastriano said, “I don’t give way for exceptions either. Kathy Barnette, she’s going to be our next U.S. Senator, she is a product of rape.”

Furthermore, in a 2019 interview with a Pennsylvania radio station WITF, Mastriano expressed that women should be charged with murder if they violated the abortion ban. "OK, let’s go back to the basic question there," Mastriano said. "Is that a human being? Is that a little boy or girl? If it is, it deserves equal protection under the law." When asked if he was saying yes, they should be charged with murder, Mastriano responded: "Yes, I am." In the same interview, Mastriano claimed that “abortion absolutely is murder,” and doctors who performed the procedure, as deemed illegal under his bill, would also risk murder charges.

Doug Mastriano voiced his opinion on banning all abortions in several press events and rallies, even in the events of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is being risked. Referencing the comment made in the 2019 radio interview about women having murder charges for having an abortion, shows that he plans on making this a reality if he is elected Governor of Pennsylvania. The claim that Doug Mastriano intends to make all abortion illegal and will likely charge people who got abortions with murders if elected Governor of Pennsylvania is TRUE.