Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) is urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to pursue federal charges against an Ohio doctor who received a short sentence for force-feeding abortion pills to his girlfriend after ordering them online.
Moreno sent a letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday also calling on the DOJ to do everything in its power to stop a Biden-era mail-order abortion scheme he says enabled the doctor to obtain the abortion drugs fraudulently.
“My constituent was held down and force-fed crushed-up mail-order abortion pills. When she finally physically escaped, she rushed to the hospital where she began hemorrhaging,” Moreno wrote. “Unsurprisingly, reckless Biden-era mail-in abortion policies are responsible for this hell-on-earth tragedy. I write to you today, Attorney General Blanche, to respectfully request that you do everything in your power to ensure this depravity never happens again to a woman and their unborn child.”
Earlier this month, 32-year-old Hassan-James Abbas, who was a surgical resident at the University of Toledo College of Medicine, was sentenced to six months behind bars, followed by two years of probation. Abbas was sentenced after pleading no contest in May to four felony charges, including disrupting public services, unlawful distribution of an abortion-inducing drug, identity fraud, and deception to obtain a dangerous drug.
Abbas was originally facing six felony charges, but prosecutors dismissed charges of abduction and tampering with evidence under a plea agreement. Pleading no contest means that he did not admit guilt but allowed the court to determine his guilt based on evidence.
The charges stem from an incident at Abbas’s home on Dec. 18, 2024. Records from prosecutors and the State Medical Board of Ohio indicate Abbas began dating a woman who had previously been his patient. After the woman told him she was pregnant and would not have an abortion, investigators said Abbas used his estranged wife’s information to buy the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol online from an out-of-state provider.
Abbas is accused of crushing up the pills, climbing on top of her while she was sleeping, and forcing the drugs into her mouth. His now-ex girlfriend said she fought to escape him and tried to call 911. Investigators said Abbas took her phone and disconnected her from emergency services.
The woman was eventually able to leave the home and seek treatment at a hospital. She said the abortion pills caused the death of her baby.
“When Jona Affholder found out she was pregnant, she did not want to have an abortion. Unfortunately, that was not the answer her narcissistic and morally repugnant ex-boyfriend, Hassan James Abbas, wanted to hear. Mr. Abbas reportedly relentlessly pressured Ms. Affholder to abort her baby. And when she consistently refused, the medical doctor and surgical resident took matters into his own hands. He restrained Ms. Affholder and held his fingers, covered with the abortion-inducing drugs, onto her gums until it absorbed into her bloodstream,” Moreno wrote.
Moreno emphasized that Abbas was able to obtain abortion drugs “without ever setting foot inside a pharmacy” by “fraudulently using his estranged wife’s name.”
“It is hard for me to imagine a wickedness more significant than this,” the Ohio senator continued. “What makes this even worse is that Mr. Hassan Abbas was only sentenced to six months of jail time and two years of probation. How can someone commit a crime so vile and only receive six months of jail time? I respectfully ask that the Department of Justice review this case and consider if there are federal charges that should be brought.”
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Moreno contended Abbas was able to obtain the pills online because of the Biden administration’s regulatory change in 2023 permanently suspending the in-person dispensation requirement for the abortion drug mifepristone. The Biden administration’s mail-order scheme was perpetrated in response the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, which overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had the invented federal right to abortion.
The Biden administration’s mail-order scheme has enabled abortionists in blue states to mail abortion drugs into states with pro-life laws via telehealth, and blue states have passed “shield laws” protecting abortionists from adverse legal action in red states. More and more stories continue to emerge of abusive men fraudulently obtaining abortion pills online with ease and coercing women into taking them.
The State of Louisiana, along with Rosalie Markezich — a woman who alleges her boyfriend was able to order abortion drugs online from California and coerce her into taking the pills — are suing the FDA over its mail-order regulation. The Supreme Court in May allowed the mail-order abortion scheme to continue as litigation plays out in lower courts.
The FDA under the Trump administration has not done much to address the merits of the case but has instead asked the courts to allow the mail-order abortion scheme to continue while the agency conducts a safety review of mifepristone — a position that has drawn the ire of the pro-life community.
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“Additionally, the Department of Justice can help make sure such evil does not permanently harm another mother or unborn child. As a matter of public policy, I encourage you to act quickly to conclude the Louisiana v. FDA case such that the in-person dispensing in a medical setting requirement is reinstated as the FDA continues its critical safety review of the drugs,” Moreno pressed.
“As a proud pro-life United States Senator who has the honor of representing Ms. Affholder in Washington, it is my responsibility to protect my constituents, those born and unborn. I applaud the historic work the United States Department of Justice has done to unveil the damage the Biden Administration caused, including the weaponization of federal law against pro-life Americans,” he continued. “However, the work is far from done. I look forward to working together to protect mothers and babies from the real threats of evil that exist, such as what tragically Ms. Affholder endured.”
Separately, Blanche indicated in a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting ahead of his confirmation that he would evaluate the previous DOJ’s legal interpretation of the Comstock Act, a federal law that banned sending “obscene material” by mail, including any “article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion.”
The Biden DOJ issued legal guidance after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision stating that the law does not prohibit the mailing of certain abortion drugs if the sender does not intend for them to be used unlawfully — guidance that fosters the unchecked flow of abortion drugs across the United States.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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