A DEEP DIVIDE

Cosponsors a bill to ensure rape victims have access to emergency contraception when they are treated in Pennsylvania hospitals. The legislation later dies in committee.

Shapiro votes against two bills that were opposed by abortion-rights advocates, including:

•A bill that classified abortion providers as ambulatory surgical facilities, requiring them to comply with stricter code regulations. The legislation later passes with about half of House Democrats joining Republicans to vote in favor of it. The legislation becomes law.

•Legislation that prohibits health plans offered through the exchange established through the Affordable Care Act from covering abortions outside cases of rape or incest or in cases when the pregnancy could lead to death. Again, Shapiro was among about half of Democrats who voted along the abortion rights line. The bill dies in the Senate. (A similar bill became law in 2013.)

Files formal legal comments opposing a proposed Trump administration rule change to prohibit providers in the national Title X family planning program from referring patients for abortion services.

Shortly after launching his campaign, Mastriano says during an interview with the Shippensburg News-Chronicle that he would “fight for life.” He adds: “The government sponsorship of murdering the unborn must end. I will do whatever it takes to end the barbaric holocaust of abortion happening in our state. As a start, we must stop all taxpayer funding of this brutal slaughter.”

Shares a cartoon on Facebook suggesting abortion in the U.S. has been more deadly than the Holocaust and writes “so sad.” The cartoon depicts the Grim Reaper with the words “Roe v. Wade” stripped across his chest, and depicts “Stalin” and a Nazi bowing and saying, "You are so much greater than we ever were!"

Shapiro sues the Trump administration to challenge a so-called “gag rule” imposed on Title X family planning providers. (The rule takes effect but is reversed by the Biden administration in 2021.)

He introduces a heartbeat bill as its prime sponsor in the state Senate, the first piece of legislation he introduces as an elected official. The measure would ban abortion after “a fetal heartbeat is detected,” and it does not include any exceptions. During a news conference, Mastriano says: “I‘m gonna fight this to my dying breath, because this is a fight worth fighting, and I‘m gonna fight to the end.”

Files a brief in support of a coalition of states challenging Indiana state officials who barred a provider from opening a medication abortion clinic. An appeals court sides with the provider, and the Supreme Court declines to take up the case. (Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the legal status of abortion in Indiana is unclear.)

Votes in favor of a bill that would make it illegal to perform abortions due to a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. The bill, which Mastriano cosponsors, is passed by the legislature and is vetoed by Wolf.

Files to enter Pennsylvania into a multistate coalition challenging the legality of a package of laws in Arkansas that restrict abortion after 18 weeks into a pregnancy. A federal judge blocks the legislation from taking effect. (Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion in Arkansas is banned with no exceptions for rape or incest due to a separate law on the books.)

Votes in favor of legislation that would bar health care providers from prescribing abortion-inducing medication via telemedicine. The General Assembly passes the legislation, which is vetoed by Wolf.

Signs a declaration, along with other prosecutors from across the nation, stating he would not enforce laws criminalizing abortion, even if Roe falls. Among other objections, they argued criminalizing abortion would keep victims of rape, human trafficking, and domestic violence from reporting the crimes.

Consponsors another bill making it illegal to perform abortions due to a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. It is reintroduced after being vetoed by Wolf.

Reintroduces his heartbeat bill in the state Senate, and it is referred to the Health and Human Services Committee, where it remains today.

Takes several steps challenging abortion restrictions in other states, including:

• Files a brief in support of the U.S. Department of Justice, which challenges Texas’ six-week abortion ban. The U.S. Supreme Court in December 2021 rules to allow the law to remain in effect. (Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a Texas trigger ban on all abortions, without exceptions for rape or incest, will likely take effect this summer.)

• Signs onto a brief in the now-landmark Dobbs case opposing Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban. The U.S. Supreme Court sides with the state and overturns Roe in the process.

• Signs onto a brief challenging South Carolina’s six-week abortion ban. A federal judge blocks the law, but it takes effect after the overturning of Roe.

"I am pro-life. It’s the No. 1 issue,” Mastriano says during a primary debate. He says that if Roe is overturned, his administration would “move with alacrity, with speed” and he would start by signing heartbeat legislation. He says he believes life begins at conception, adding, “We're gonna have to work our way towards that.” He also says, “I don’t give a way for exceptions.”

Mastriano says he would support criminal penalties for doctors who perform abortions but not for patients who seek them.

"There is no greater issue in our generation than a right to life,” Mastriano says in a campaign video. “Pennsylvania aborts about 30,000 babies a year. This is unconscionable. More than half of those abortions come from our minority population. So it’s a sort of genocide that's going on here."

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, about 32,000 abortions were performed in Pennsylvania in 2020, the most recent year for which annual data is available. About 54% of the patients were nonwhite.

“January 22, 1973 was one of the darkest days in American history. On that day, seven justices of the Supreme Court ruled that the right to life could merely be reduced to a decision of convenience. … Our nation is now on the precipice of reversing this science-denying genocide. Thanks to President Trump, a conservative majority on the Supreme Court is set to right this historic wrong. Since I was elected to the Senate, there has been no more important issue to me than the right to life.”

Shapiro says of Republican-backed bills aimed at banning abortion: “This is an extreme position and I can tell you it is wildly out of touch with a majority of Pennsylvanians. The stakes could not be higher. I will veto any and all of those bills that restrict the right to abortion here in Pennsylvania.”

Shapiro sends a message to supporters the night of the primary election, writing: “The contrast in this election could not be clearer – Doug Mastriano wants to ban abortion without exceptions…”

In an election night speech, Mastriano says, “Democrat governors around the nation here want to kill babies even up to birth and some are talking about after birth. That’s extreme. That’s denying the science. That’s immoral. Every baby deserves a right to life.”

Antiabortion advocates have often zeroed in on comments made by a former Virginia governor and on legislation in California – which was amended – to suggest Democratic governors are in favor of infanticide. The claims have been debunked repeatedly.

“Roe v. Wade is rightly relegated to the ash heap of history. As the abortion debate returns to the states, Pennsylvania must be prepared to lead the nation in being a voice for the voiceless. … While this decision by the U.S. Supreme Court is a triumph for innocent life, it must not take our focus away from the key issues facing Pennsylvania families.”

“While we expected we'd face this devastating ruling — this is a tragic day for our country, as a woman’s freedom to choose now depends on the state in which she lives. Abortion is still legal in Pennsylvania, but whether it remains legal depends entirely on who we elect as our next Governor.“