Ohio doctor who forced woman to take abortion pill pleads no contest

The Ohio doctor who forced his girlfriend to take abortion pills has pleaded no contest to four felonies.

Key Takeaways:

• Hassan-James Abbas was originally indicted on six felonies after he ordered abortion pills and forced the pills into his girlfriend's mouth.

• Abbas had previously treated the woman with anti-nausea medication before beginning their romantic relationship, therefore establishing a doctor-patient relationship, and the Ohio Medical Board suspended Abbas's medical license.

• After Abbas administered the abortion pills by force, the woman lost her preborn baby.

• Abbas pled no contest to four of the six felony charges against him.

The Backstory:

As previously reported, Ohio doctor Hassan-James Abbas established a doctor-patient relationship with the victim when he prescribed anti-nausea medication to her. Abbas, despite being married to someone else, began a romantic relationship with the patient in October of 2024, claiming that he and his wife were separated at the time. He was then a surgical resident at the University of Toledo Medical Center.

In December, the woman found out she was pregnant. "I just told him that I took a test. I sent him a picture of it, you know, I was happy to talk to him about it and have a conversation. He called me on the phone and was screaming at me, just erratic behavior that I have never seen before," she said.

She visited him at his home, and he repeatedly offered her drinks, which she said was unusual behavior. She eventually fell asleep, but woke up to find Abbas on top of her with his fingers in her mouth, and she said she felt a powder in her mouth. When she tried to call 911, Abbas took the phone from her and hung up.

"I lay there and I went back and forth on if he was gonna kill me, you know. That was my biggest thought was that he was going to kill me," she said. Once she escaped, she was able to drive herself to the hospital, but it was too late; her preborn baby did not survive.

Abbas was indicted on six felony charges, including abduction, unlawful distribution of an abortion-inducing drug, disrupting public services, deception to obtain a dangerous drug, identity fraud, and tampering with evidence.

The victim also filed a civil lawsuit, but a judge denied her request for anonymity and said the lawsuit could only be filed if she used her real name.

The Details:

Abbas has now pleaded no contest to four of the felony charges against him and has been convicted on charges of disrupting public services, unlawful distribution of an abortion pill, identity fraud, and deception to obtain dangerous drugs. He faces up to five years in prison, and a $15,000 fine.

Under the plea deal, the third-degree felony charges of abduction and tampering with evidence were both dropped.

According to prosecutor Jessica Worley, Abbas used his estranged wife’s name to order abortion drugs online. Once they were delivered to him, he crushed them and mixed them into hot chocolate and tea, but when the victim refused to drink them, he resorted to physically forcing them into her mouth.

The victim has now been identified as Jona Affholder, who said she was angry about the plea deal Abbas was able to take. “It is important that he be held accountable for what he did,” she said. Affholder also pointed out that he pleaded no contest rather than guilty, insinuating that he still is not fully taking responsibility for what he did.

The Bottom Line:

Abbas' crimes were able to be committed so easily because of the ease at which abortion drugs can be ordered and purchased online and through the mail, in part thanks to lifted safety restrictions on mifepristone by the Obama and Biden administrations.

No verification is necessary regarding who is ordering the abortion pills or why, which has led to numerous cases of forced and coerced abortion.