Abby Johnson, who once directed a Planned Parenthood clinic but is now an opponent of abortion, told Hill.TV on Wednesday that she does not believe women should be punished for seeking abortions.
“I don’t believe in punishing women who do seek to have abortion services,” Johnson told hosts Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on “Rising.”
“We’ve never punished women in this country, even before Roe v. Wade,” she continued. “We always punish the providers, and so I think that is the appropriate move forward.”
Johnson left Planned Parenthood after assisting in an ultrasound-guided abortion.
She went on to found the nonprofit organization And Then There Were None, which supports abortion clinic workers looking to leave the industry.
Her comments come after an Ohio committee on Tuesday advanced legislation that would ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, and impose $20,000 fine on physicians who violate the law and perform abortions once a heartbeat is detected.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R) signed a “heartbeat” bill into law last month that would go into effect in July, while the Georgia House has passed similar “heartbeat” legislation.
— Julia Manchester
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