Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, has expressed concerns about U.S. laws not keeping pace with the expanding access to abortion medications. She argues that such gaps in legislation enable abusers to use these drugs to terminate pregnancies without their partners’ consent, often facing minimal repercussions.
For example, she highlighted the case of Hassan-James Abbas from Ohio, who reportedly forced abortion pills into the mouth of his pregnant girlfriend, Jona Affholder, back in December 2024. Recently, he received a mere six-month prison sentence for this act.
Affholder sought medical care and ultimately lost her baby. Dannenfelser commented, “The fact that this guy got only six months in prison for his crime says a lot about the state of our culture right now. This was a very much wanted pregnancy. She could support the baby on her own and didn’t need his help. But he had other ideas in mind.”
Abbas, who was a surgical resident at the University of Toledo, began dating Affholder in October 2024. Around December of that year, when he learned of her pregnancy, he managed to illegally procure mifepristone and misoprostol using his estranged wife’s identification. It’s still unclear if he prescribed the drugs himself.
These two medications are used to terminate early pregnancies: mifepristone blocks progesterone, a hormone essential for sustaining a pregnancy, while misoprostol induces contractions to expel the fetus. Dannenfelser drew attention to how current FDA regulations allow these medications to be prescribed after virtual consultations and sent through the mail from certified pharmacies.
After acquiring the pills, Abbas acted unusually, offering Affholder hot beverages while intending to manipulate her into taking the drugs. On December 18, he reportedly held her down and forced the crushed pills into her mouth, despite her intentions to keep the baby. Court documents reveal that when Affholder attempted to call 911, he snatched the phone away, making escape difficult. Eventually, she managed to leave and sought medical assistance.
Affholder later described her ordeal in a guest column for a media outlet. In her account, she noted that as she tried to call for help, he obstructed her efforts, prolonging the situation while the drugs were supposed to take effect, ultimately leading to severe health complications for her.
Abbas was arrested the day after the incident and initially pleaded not guilty. By May 2026, he entered a no contest plea on four felony charges, including unlawfully distributing abortion-inducing drugs and identity fraud. Charges of abduction and evidence tampering were dropped as part of the plea deal, as evidence suggested he attempted to dispose of the remaining pills.
Dannenfelser remarked on the stark contrast between Abbas’ short sentence and the potential penalties for rape in Ohio, pointing out that such attacks resulting in the death of a wanted child receive surprisingly light sentences. She referenced another case from February 2024, where a man similarly received a six-month sentence for slipping misoprostol into his wife’s drinks, a situation that had almost led to severe developmental delays in the baby.
Dannenfelser called on political figures in Ohio to respond to such leniency in sentencing, urging them to address whether more stringent measures should be taken to control these types of drugs. She also criticized Planned Parenthood and pro-choice advocates for their silence regarding cases of coercion in abortion situations.
While Planned Parenthood has condemned actions involving administering abortion drugs without consent, it has not issued a public statement regarding Affholder’s specific case. Dannenfelser believes that the Department of Justice needs to take more decisive action in prosecuting such offenses.
Recently, Sen. Bernie Moreno from Ohio joined Dannenfelser in urging Attorney General Todd Blanche to take action, emphasizing the seriousness of Affholder’s case as part of a broader critique of current abortion policies.
