‘Hell-on-earth tragedy’: Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno asks DOJ to review meager sentence of doctor who force-fed patient chemical abortion pills 

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, is asking the Department of Justice to review a six-month sentence of a Toledo doctor who forced abortion pills down his girlfriend and former patient’s throat after she refused to abort their baby, according to a letter sent Tuesday.

“When Jona Affholder found out she was pregnant, she did not want to have an abortion,” Moreno writes. “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 they were absorbed into her bloodstream.”

Abbas, a former surgery resident at the University of Toledo, lost his medical license after he confessed to ordering chemical abortion pills online, using his wife’s identity, and forcing them down Affholder’s throat, as previously reported.

“Without ever setting foot inside a pharmacy, Mr. Abbas procured the mail-order abortion drugs fraudulently using his estranged wife’s name,” Moreno continues. “It is hard for me to imagine a wickedness more significant than this.”

Abbas was found guilty earlier this month of identity fraud and deception to obtain a dangerous drug but was sentenced to only six months in jail and two years of probation, according to Fox News.

“How can someone commit a crime so vile and only receive six months of jail time?” Moreno asks. “I respectfully ask that the Department of Justice review this case and consider if there are federal charges that should be brought.”

The case comes as the Trump administration fights against the proliferation of abortion drugs and against abortion in general.

Moreno blames the Biden administration’s rollback of safeguards surrounding the prescription and shipment of mifepristone that allowed Abbas and many others to obtain these chemical abortion pills. In 2023, Biden’s Food and Drug Administration removed requirements for an in-person doctor’s visit for the prescription of mifepristone and allowed the abortion pills to be shipped directly to an address instead of administered by a physician, as previously reported.

“Unsurprisingly, reckless Biden-era mail-in abortion policies are responsible for this hell-on-earth tragedy,” Moreno continues. “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.”

Moreno calls himself a “pro-life senator” and says he will fight to “protect my constituents born and unborn.” He asked Attorney General Todd Blanche to reinstate protections for women, especially the “in-person dispensing in a medical setting requirement.” Louisiana has been asking the FDA to do the same in its ongoing case, which Moreno referenced, that cites similar crimes against women regarding mifepristone.

“Additionally, the Department of Justice can help make sure such evil does not permanently harm another mother or unborn child,” Moreno writes.