Rep. Ashley Hinson: Don’t prosecute women who have abortions, but doctors must follow state laws

DES MOINES — Women who have an abortion should not be prosecuted if the procedure is outlawed, but physicians who violate a state law by administering an abortion should, Iowa Republican U.S. Rep Ashley Hinson said Friday.

Hinson did not directly say whether she believes anyone who assists a pregnant woman who has an abortion should be prosecuted. In Congress, she voted against it, but earlier as a state lawmaker, supported an abortion bill that was silent on the issue.

“First and foremost, I do not support prosecuting women for having an abortion,” Hinson said during her weekly conference call with Iowa reporters. “I want to make sure women have access to maternal health care and other resources for alternatives to abortion. … But I firmly also believe medical providers should follow the law and should be accountable to the law.”

Hinson said she does not support criminal charges for anyone who receives an abortion, including those who may travel out of one state where abortion is illegal to have an abortion in another state where it remains legal. It also means Hinson supports prosecuting physicians who administer abortions in states where it is illegal.

Hinson, during the conference call, did not directly answer whether she supports prosecuting other individuals who assist a person who is receiving an abortion. While Hinson has yet to comment on the question, her staff said she has been consistent on the matter and pointed to a recent vote Hinson cast in the U.S. House.

On June 28, according to congressional records online, Hinson voted in support of an amendment to a federal budget bill that says the federal justice department shall not use funding in the bill “to investigate or prosecute any individual that crosses state lines to access abortion services or provides assistance to another individual to obtain abortion services.”

Hinson was the only Republican to support the amendment, which passed.

However, Hinson as an Iowa legislator voted for state abortion restrictions that do not include protections for other individuals who assist a person who is receiving an abortion. That legislation could soon become state law, as Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds plans to ask the state courts to lift their injunction on the measure.

Iowa Senate File 359 — known as the “fetal heartbeat” bill — would ban abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy, which often is before the woman knows she is pregnant. The bill contains exceptions for pregnancies that are the result of rape or incest or where a pregnancy threatens a woman’s health. It also states a woman should not be prosecuted for having an abortion.

However, the bill is silent on protections for other people who may help a pregnant woman who has an abortion in violation of the law.

The measure was halted by the courts after it was signed into law by Reynolds in 2018. But in the wake of recent U.S. and Iowa Supreme Court rulings, Reynolds said she plans to ask the state courts to lift that injunction and allow the law to go into effect.

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