FACT CHECK: Pat Toomey Would Ban Abortion and Put Doctors Providing Abortion in Jail

For Immediate Release: Oct. 25, 2016

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In tonight’s Pennsylvania Senate Debate, Pat Toomey was asked about his position on abortion bans. He doubled down on his opposition to abortion. In six years in the Senate, Pat Toomey has become one of the most extreme, anti-abortion Senators, even suggesting doctors should go to jail for providing abortion.

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Quote from Deirdre Schifeling, Executive Director, Planned Parenthood Votes:

“Pat Toomey has taken positions radically out of step from the people in his state. Pat Toomey wants to ban abortion,  put doctors who provide abortion in jail, and has voted to defund Planned Parenthood. Pat Toomey is just too extreme for Pennsylvania voters. People in Pennsylvania want women to have access to essential health care, but Pat Toomey would take that health care away. Women in Pennsylvania cannot afford another 6 years of Pat Toomey.”

Pat Toomey's Extreme Record on Reproductive Health Care

• Pat Toomey has voted to defund Planned Parenthood health centersseven times –– including a vote in favor of shutting down the entire federal government over funding for Planned Parenthood services. Over 90,000 Pennsylvanians rely on Planned Parenthood for birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing every year. 

• Pat Toomey puts his personal ideology above the will of Pennsylvanians. Polling shows that Pennsylvania voters overwhelmingly support Planned Parenthood.

• Pat Toomey wants to ban safe and legal abortion and saidhe would support the repeal of Roe v. Wade.  He’s even shirking his constitutional duty by joining with fellow Republicans in refusing to consider the president’s Supreme Court nominee. An overwhelming majority of Pennsylvania voters are opposed to Toomey and his fellow Republican senators blockading the nominee.

• Pat Toomey thinks  Roe. v. Wade was “wrongly decided.”

• Pat Toomey is as extreme as it gets when it comes to access to abortion. Toomey supports putting doctors who perform abortions into jail. He shares this position with Donald Trump. 

• Pat Toomey has no understanding of the health care needs of women. Toomey has incorrectly referred to emergency contraception like Plan B as “abortion-inducing pills.”   

• Pat Toomey called the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision (which allows employers to deny their employees birth control) “great news.” 

• Pat Toomey wants to repeal the ACA and has voted multiple times to do so. More than 137 million Americans, including more than 55 million women, now have access to preventive services — including contraceptive coverage, breast cancer screenings, and well-woman visits — because of the Affordable Care Act. In Pennsylvania alone, there are over 2.5 million women who now have preventive services coverage, thanks to the ACA. [Roll Call Vote 51, 3/22/13; Roll Call Vote 9, 2/2/11; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: The Affordable Care Act is Improving Access to Preventive Services for Millions of Americans, 5/14/15]

• Pat Toomey has voted multiple times against the Paycheck Fairness Act.

• Pat Toomey has voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act.

Planned Parenthood Votes is an independent expenditure political committee registered with the Federal Election Commission.