A Toledo surgical resident has had his medical license suspended after he allegedly forced a woman he impregnated to take abortion-inducing drugs. In pro-life circles around the state and around the country, this “horrific case” has reignited calls to end Biden-era policies that they claim lead to the proliferation and abuse of these drugs.
Dr. Hassan-James Abbas, a surgical resident at the University of Toledo Medical Center, had his medical license suspended after allegedly forcing the woman he impregnated to take the drugs, which he reportedly ordered under his estranged wife’s name.
Ohio Right to Life Executive Director Carrie Snyder said in a press release that “If the allegations are true, this is attempted murder, plain and simple.
While no criminal charges have been filed against Abbas at this time, Bethany McCorkle, a spokesperson for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office, told The Daily Signal that “The publicly reported facts, if true, would lay out probable cause for a murder charge. The Attorney General‘s office has no authority to conduct a criminal investigation absent an invitation from a local prosecutor, sheriff, or police chief.”
“The Attorney General has full confidence in local law-enforcement but is fully prepared to assist if asked,” McCorkle added.
Biden-era Policies to Blame, Pro-Lifers Say
“We are calling on the Trump Administration to finally protect women and preborn babies from aggressors who don’t care about either,” Kristi Hamrick, the spokesperson for Students for Life of America, told The Daily Signal in response to the case.
Pro-life organizations believe that a 2021 policy of former President Joe Biden has created opportunities for abuse of abortion-inducing drugs. The Biden administration relaxed regulations on abortion-inducing pills so they can be easily acquired online in December 2021. This has also made the method rife for abuse, as appears to be the case in Toledo.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser released a statement calling on the FDA to rescind the policy.
“We call on the FDA to end Joe Biden’s mail-order abortion rule today. This horrific case shows exactly how the policy endangers women and empowers abusers. This mother wanted to keep her baby – instead, she and her child were violently assaulted because the FDA allows dangerous abortion drugs to be ordered online with no oversight,” her statement began.
“Another woman has allegedly been poisoned by an abusive partner with abortion drugs under a Biden-era rule allowing the mail-order of the drugs,” an SBA Pro-Life America press release said of the Toledo incident. “With reports of the woman losing her child and going to the hospital with severe bleeding, SBA Pro-Life America calls on the FDA to end the Biden rule immediately.”
Alliance Defending Freedom, which argued the 2024 case of FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, is looking to take further action against the FDA.
Local pro-lifers are speaking out as well, as the Center for Christian Virtue’s Aaron Baer did over X. March for Life President Jennie Lichter put out a quoted repost of Baer to call on the FDA to take action.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.
A Harrowing Timeline
Abbas separated from his wife in October 2024 and began a romantic and sexual relationship with a woman identified as Patient 1, WTOL 11 reported.
The timeline of events over the course of Patient 1’s pregnancy is harrowing.
When Patient 1 informed Abbas she was pregnant on Dec. 7, 2024, Abbas told her to get an abortion, but Patient 1 stated she did not want one.
The day after, Abbas, “without Patient 1’s knowledge,” allegedly ordered the cocktail of drugs used for the method, Mifepristone and Misoprostol, “from an out-of-state telemedical abortion provider.” Abbas “allegedly placed the order using his estranged wife’s name, date of birth and driver’s license number without her knowledge or consent, while using his own credit card, email address and delivery address.”
The drugs were delivered to Abbas’ address three days after he ordered them.
In the early hours of Dec. 18, 2024, after Patient 1 had stayed the night at Abbas’ home, she allegedly woke up to Abbas on top of her as he held her down and forced a crushed powder inside her mouth. The woman fought to get to the kitchen where she called 911, though Abbas is said to have taken her phone and hung up.
The woman drove to a hospital emergency room at 5:59a.m., where she was documented as “Assault victim (Pt was held down by the neck by sexual partner after telling him she had a positive pregnancy test. Pt states that he forced an unknown substance into her mouth. She shoved and scratched him off her and got away at kitchen)” and had a diagnosis of vaginal bleeding.
According to WTOL 11, Abbas was interviewed by board staff on July 21 and admitted to allegations, though he claimed Patient 1 agreed to take the crushed up pills.
The article mentions Abbas “further admitted to crushing the abortion medication for it to dissolve more quickly and adjusting the medication administration, not following the provided instructions and substituting his own medical judgment.”
On November 5, the State Medical Board sent Dr. Abbas a letter revealing he “is no longer authorized to practice medicine and surgery in Ohio.”
The University of Toledo Medical Center shared a statement speaking to cooperation.
“Dr. Hassan Abbas, a surgical resident at The University of Toledo, was placed on administrative leave after the State Medical Board of Ohio suspended his license on Wednesday, Nov. 5. The matter under investigation by the state is unrelated to his role at UToledo,” the statement read. “UToledo holds its employees to the highest standards of professional conduct and will cooperate with the state medical board’s investigative processes.”
The Broader Problem
What happened in Toledo is not an isolated incident, pro-lifers claim.
“We’ve known for a while that No Test, Online Distribution of Chemical Abortion Pills exposes women to injury, infertility, and death, as well as creates a risk to the environment through abortion water pollution. But there are two groups who really love it–abusers and pill pushers,” Hamrick told The Daily Signal. “We are helping all the wrong people with the unregulated, negligent policy in place now. Three Democratic Party Presidents–Clinton, Obama, and Biden–set this up through federal agencies without 60 votes in the U.S. Senate.”
The method not only involves “coercion” and “abuse,” but also other dangers as Melanie Israel, a visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation’s Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family, claims in a report titled “Abortion Pills, Coercion, and Abuse.”
Snyder says the incident is evidence that more needs to be done to protect women and children in the Buckeye state.
“Radical activist judges in Ohio have continued to block Ohio laws that would limit easy access to abortion pills. They bear some responsibility for this. We look forward to the Ohio Supreme Court overturning the lower court ruling,” Snyder said in a press release. “In the meantime, Ohio Right to Life calls on the legislature to pass HB 324, the Patient Protection Act, which would prevent situations like this from happening by restoring common sense laws in the prescription of the dangerous abortion drug mifepristone. We will also pursue other ways to restore the protections of women which have been stripped away by judges who are subverting the will of Ohio voters.”
As for what’s next for Abbas, the state medical board may take further action, including permanent action which would make Abbas ineligible to hold a medical license or certificate to practice in the state. He may also face a civil penalty of up to $20,000.
