Republican Doug Mastriano once said women should be charged with murder for violating proposed abortion ban

Republicans across the US have backed away from hardline abortion stances

Count Doug Mastriano among those Republicans with hardline stances on abortion who will now have to reckon with the reality of their proposals.

The Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate has vowed in recent days to sign into law a bill banning abortion after six weeks, or similar restrictions, should he win office against Josh Shapiro in November. But now, his past comments about the issue show just how extreme the potential governor’s views are.

Pressed on his views about the various proposals to ban abortion that have floated around Pennsylvania and other states, Mr Mastriano was asked in 2019 during an interview with a local news radio station whether he believed that women who violate such bans should be charged with murder, according to audio recovered by NBC News.

"Is that a human being? Is that a little boy or girl? If it is, it deserves equal protection under the law,” Mr Mastriano explained.

Then asked directly if he was saying that women who get abortions should be charged with murder, he responded: "Yes, I am”.

Mr Mastriano’s campaign did not comment on the unearthed audio when contacted by NBC News, but his opponent Josh Shapiro was quick to pounce.

"Doug Mastriano has said his number one priority is banning abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother — and now, it’s clear he also wants to prosecute women for murder for making personal healthcare decisions," said a Shapiro campaign spokesperson. "Mastriano has the most extreme anti-choice position in the country — and there is no limit to how far he would go to take away Pennsylvania women’s freedom."

Republicans across the country have spent the past several weeks walking away from their past comments about abortion, now faced with a new reality of Roe vs Wade overturned and the prospect of banning abortion suddenly very possible. Some, like Blake Masters in Arizona, have scrubbed mention from their campaign websites of which specific anti-abortion legislation they would support; others, like Dr Mehmet Oz, have avoided answering questions about their personal stance on the issue.

The shift in strategy indicates a GOP now confronted with a voter demographic, women, suddenly energised and angered over an issue of which the Republican Party finds itself squarely embracing the minority view.

As a result, many Republican politicians around the country have attempted to find other issues to dominate the national conversation, including the recently-launched (and widely-publicised) scheme to bus migrants from the US-Mexico border to Democratic strongholds in the northeast.