PX column: Why abortion could be big issue in Aftab Pureval-Steve Chabot congressional race

Jason Williams | Cincinnati Enquirer

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump rallies pro-life voters before midterms President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a rallying call to opponents of abortion, encouraging them to the polls to elect conservative lawmakers. (May 22)

Get ready for abortion to be a hot-button issue in the congressional race between Cincinnati's Steve Chabot and Aftab Pureval.

Pro-abortion rights group NARAL announced on Thursday it's launching a $5 million campaign specifically targeting House Republicans "who have voted to restrict abortion but have rarely had serious Democratic challenges," according to the Washington Post.

That includes Chabot, who not only has a rare serious challenger but also one who's open about being pro-choice – the type of candidate seldom seen running in Ohio's 1st Congressional District. So open, in fact, Pureval has accepted a large campaign donation from a controversial abortion doctor.

Indian Hill resident Martin Haskell, nationally known for once performing so-called "partial-birth abortions," gave the maximum $2,700 donation to Pureval ahead of this month's primary. Pureval, the Hamilton County clerk of courts, faces one of Washington's leading pro-life lawmakers in Chabot – chief sponsor of the 2003 bill that banned partial-birth abortions.

Haskell has been a long-time donor to pro-choice candidates from across Greater Cincinnati and Ohio. But the Pureval donation is particularly noteworthy because it's the first time Haskell has contributed to one of Chabot's opponents, according to public records.

So why now? Does Haskell see Pureval as the best pro-choice candidate to have a shot at defeating the long-time congressman?

The Democrats are trying to flip the House, and Haskell's involvement adds intrigue to what's expected to be one of the most-watched congressional races in the country.

Haskell, who runs abortion clinics in Dayton and Indianapolis, didn't return Politics Extra's phone message left with his office.

PX column: Democrats turn up heat on Steve Chabot

Pureval: Race not about abortion

Sarah Topy, Pureval's campaign spokeswoman, said she doesn't know if Pureval and Haskell know each other. Pureval was out-of-pocket this week for his wedding.

Haskell is one of more than 2,000 donors from across Southwest Ohio, Topy said, "who are sick of the rigged system in Washington and who want to change our country." The race is about other issues, she added.

"Aftab believes the key issues in this race are creating jobs, investing in infrastructure here at home and protecting access to health care," Topy said in a statement.

"Meanwhile, Steve Chabot refuses to stand up for women's health care," Topy added. "He's voted against requiring insurance companies to provide coverage for maternity care and breast cancer coverage."

Chabot: It's now about abortion

The abortion issue moved back to the forefront in Washington this week. President Donald Trump called for cutting taxpayer money going to Planned Parenthood a few days before NARAL launched its 19-state campaign.

Chabot's campaign is preparing for abortion to be discussed in the race.

"Aftab has brought this issue to the forefront in this campaign by choosing to side with the biggest proponent of the most disgusting and inhumane procedure in our nation’s history – partial-birth abortion," said Cody Rizzuto, Chabot's campaign spokesman.

Rizzuto added: "Congressman Chabot’s bill had wide bipartisan support, and was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court precisely because even many Americans who considered themselves pro-choice found this barbaric practice to be completely unacceptable."

Who's Haskell?

The 72-year-old obstetrician-gynecologist is credited for being the first doctor to publicly describe the late-term abortion procedure known as "dilation and extraction."

Little was known about partial-birth abortions until 1992, when Haskell wrote a paper about the procedure and presented it to the National Abortion Federation convention.

Chabot, in his 11th term, has called the procedure "gruesome." Haskell's paper said it involved forcing "scissors into the base of the skull" and then using a catheter to "suction ... the skull contents."

Haskell last donated big money in a House race in 2008, when he and his wife, Valerie, gave nearly $8,000 to Victoria Wulsin, according to OpenSecrets.org. The Cincinnati doctor lost to Jean Schmidt in the 2nd Congressional District.

Haskell also has given $11,000 to Montgomery's Connie Pillich for statewide campaigns in recent years.

Impact on Pureval

The former Procter & Gamble lawyer has only been in public office for 1½ years and doesn't have a record on the issue. But history in the district doesn't favor Pureval, who in December posted on Facebook a photo of himself and then-Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards. He called Richards a "personal hero of mine."

Only pro-life Democrats have been able to compete against Chabot, who's currently co-sponsoring a bill that says life begins at conception. His only loss since first being elected in 1994 was to pro-life Democrat Steve Driehaus a decade ago.

Pro-life Democrat John Cranley is the only other candidate to be somewhat competitive, losing the 2006 race by four points.

Red-leaning Warren County has since been added to the district, which also includes western Hamilton County. Warren County is where some of Ohio's most outspoken pro-life advocates live. And expect them to start getting loud.

Politics Extra is a column looking inside Greater Cincinnati and Ohio politics. Follow Enquirer political columnist Jason Williams on Twitter @jwilliamscincy.