SUE MORRIS

Mill Hall

Since winning Pennsylvania’s Republican primary, Doug Mastriano has changed his stripes. His video, “The Right to Life: Doug Mastriano for Governor,” disappeared from his campaign website.

In it, Mastriano says, “My body, my choice is ridiculous nonsense.” The vast majority of Pennsylvanians disagree with him. An August 2022 Franklin and Marshall poll found 89% of Pennsylvanians want abortion legal in some or all circumstances.

Mastriano used to claim abortion as his “No. 1 issue,” and vowed to move “with alacrity and speed” to outlaw, with no exceptions, abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected. “I will do everything in my power to protect babies so everyone can live their life as they see fit,” Mastriano declares in his scrapped video.

Obviously, Mastriano’s “everyone” doesn’t include women seeking reproductive health care.

Mastriano realizes that he’s wildly out of step with many Republicans, especially suburban women, who say they’ll have a hard time voting for their party’s nominee because they don’t trust his sudden about-face–or his newfound silence on the abortion issue.

Mastriano’s handlers are reading the polls and muzzling their candidate, but a politician who changes his stripes overnight can’t be trusted–and voters won’t be deceived. His campaign may have deemphasized abortion, but Mastriano has not changed his views.

Keep government mandates out of your private health care decisions. Register to vote by Oct. 24, and then vote on Nov. 8 for Josh Shapiro, the only candidate who has pledged to protect a woman’s right to choose.