It was Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, York) who sponsored the Heartbeat abortion bill last year in the PA Senate. He is one of a growing number of pro-life lawmakers in Harrisburg that are saying it’s time to bring up some more bills in January to try to preserve the sanctity of life.
“Yeah, the caucus has gained maybe two seats and it’s a more conservative caucus,” Mastriano told me on a recent visit to his Capitol office. “It’s time that we actually stand for life. Let’s stop being so pragmatic—‘the governor’s going to veto that, what’s the point?’ So we’re willing not to fight for what’s right? If you believe that all life is God-given and deserves a chance, then we should do everything in our being in this opportunity here from the legislative side to protect the most vulnerable in our society.
“Let the governor veto that. Let him be responsible. But we need to toss it in his hands. Okay, so you’re willing to abort Down syndrome babies. You’re willing to abort healthy babies. You’re willing to abort a baby with a heartbeat. What gives him the right to choose life and death? We choose life and we have to fight for it.”
Governor Wolf vetoed the Down syndrome bill and vowed to veto the Heartbeat bill. Mastriano has also not been a fan of the way that Wolf has handled the pandemic by shutting down businesses and having people wear masks.
“Choose to walk as free people,” Mastriano said. “I predicted back in May that around election time there would be a spike in activity. Of course there would be, we’re in cold and flu season. Not only would it be politicized—leave it up to Wolf to politicize everything—but also because it’s a normal cycle of life. We’re now in cold and flu season. It’s going to be like this, with increased cases of flu and novel viruses like COVID until March and April.
“If you’re vulnerable and you feel at risk, stay home. You decide that you want to wear a mask. You decide the social distance. You decide all the stuff, like washing your hands like we learned in Cub Scouts.”
With all that Wolf has done to hurt Republican efforts with his vetoes, there are many people in and around Harrisburg who feel that it was Governor Wolf’s policies, ironically, that resulted in a strong showing for Republican lawmakers in this month’s elections. Many voters were possibly tired of the lockdowns.
“In the end I think Pennsylvania is going to forever be changed by the result of the overreach and the abuse and the bullying from the Left in our state,” Mastriano said. “That we would have this debate here where it all began in 1776, where the light of liberty was lit, where the bones of our founding fathers rest, where our founding fathers worshipped, where they gathered to debate the Constitution in 1787. “
