NEW, SECOND VIDEO: Reproaction asked Congressman Ron Wright (R-TX) about his previous conversation with us when he said that women should “absolutely” be punished for abortion.

With cruel abortion bans sweeping state legislatures, many are concerned that abortion will be criminalized.

Unfortunately, women across the United States have already faced prosecution for abortion. Such a case took place in 2015 in Indiana, when Purvi Patel was sentenced to 20 years in prison for self-managing her own abortion. While her sentence was eventually reduced, she is not alone, and she should have never been jailed.

In previous video footage gathered by Reproaction, Congressman Ron Wright (R-TX), explicitly advocated punishment for people who have abortions.

When we asked for his position on the reality that women in the United States are going to jail for self-managed abortion, he said, “of course they should” be punished. When pressed further and asked directly if women should be punished for having abortions he said “absolutely.”

Shortly after that video was released, we distributed flyers on Capitol Hill to raise awareness of Rep. Wright’s horrific comments when he happened to walk by. Not only did he double down on his desire to criminalize self-manage abortion, he was disgustingly condescending to our woman staffer asking him questions. He sneered, “don’t be putting words in my mouth woman” and referred to her as “dense” and an “idiot.”

This sexist behavior is unacceptable for a sitting member of Congress, and the fact that he was acting this way while also advocating for punishment for abortion is reprehensible. It is an affront to the one in four women in this country who have abortions. Share our videos and sign our petition demanding that your member of Congress disavow prosecuting abortion, and that they call on all their colleagues – including their “pro-life” colleagues – to do the same.