Republican AG nominee proposes criminal charges against men for unwanted pregnancies

Republican attorney general nominee Alan Gordon said he’s confident in his legal analysis of the 19-page plan he unveiled Tuesday in his campaign’s first press conference at the Rhode Island State House.

“I ran it through three AIs,” he told the only reporter who showed up.

His idea: to criminally charge men whose consensual sex results in an unwanted pregnancy. 

“Where a man has accidentally, recklessly, or even deliberately caused such profound changes to a woman’s body, he’s going to have to answer for that,” Gordon, 56, said while standing near a statue of 19th century antislavery activist and women’s suffragist Elizabeth Buffum Chace.

Gordon argues that an unwanted pregnancy amounts to unlawful bodily harm whatever the outcome — whether birth, miscarriage, or abortion. So his plan would let prosecutors pursue felony charges under existing Rhode Island assault and battery statutes.

First-time offenders would be eligible for diversion rather than traditional incarceration under Gordon’s proposal. He envisions a residential program where participants would receive vocational, educational and personal-development training.

Rhode Island’s felony assault law covers conduct that causes serious bodily injury, while the criminal-negligence statute cited by Gordon applies when a person causes serious bodily injury through criminal negligence. But neither law specifically identifies pregnancy as bodily harm.

AG candidates show mostly subtle differences in first public forum

Gordon was unopposed in the Sept. 9 Republican primary that saw contested races for governor and the 2nd Congressional District. Gordon received 20,288 votes, according to unofficial results from the Rhode Island Board of Elections. 

Approximately 23,000 ballots were cast in the GOP’s gubernatorial contest between Aaron Guckian and Elaine Pelino. Just over 15,000 votes were cast in the Republican race to represent Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District where Vic Mellor defeated Dr. Stephen Skoly.

Kim Ahern received 46,025 votes in the four-way Democratic AG race that drew 126,718 ballots.

Gordon came to the State House with his cousin and campaign manager Anne Armstrong, who said she sent the campaign’s proposal to a former Roger Williams University School of Law professor for vetting. The professor did not immediately respond when Rhode Island Current reached out with a request for comment.

However, Steven Brown, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, offered a blunt assessment, calling Gordon’s idea “too ridiculous to warrant any comment.” 

Jocelyn Foye, director and co-founder of the Womxn Project, said the proposal was simply “a publicity stunt.”

“It would be nice to see him work on real issues that affect people’s day-to-day lives,” Foye said in a phone interview. “People are genuinely getting rounded up for reasons that aren’t legal.” 

Gordon said his proposal latches on to his Democratic opponent’s idea to create a “reproductive justice unit” in the attorney general’s office. 

Ahern’s team wants to focus on protecting reproductive rights through litigation, public education, a legal helpline and coordination with advocacy groups. 

“I have to be honest about having sort of stolen their idea of a reproductive justice unit,” Gordon said. “She’s got a good idea, and I’m not going to oppose it just because I’m her political opponent.”

Gordon had hoped Ahern would stop by the State House to debate him on the finer points of his policy proposal. Ahern’s campaign confirmed an invite was received, and described her Republican opponent as “staunchly anti-choice and opposed to abortion under any circumstances.”

“Kim believes defending reproductive justice means protecting a woman’s right to choose whether, how, and when to start a family, not prohibiting access to critical care,” spokesperson Josh Block said in an emailed statement.

Gordon acknowledged he personally opposes abortion, but would enforce “the law of the land” if elected.

Gordon referred to himself as a “longshot RI GOP AG candidate” in a Sept. 10 press release ahead of Tuesday’s press event. A canon lawyer is trained in the legal system governing the Catholic Church. He previously ran for attorney general as an independent in 2018 and is seeking the office this year as a Republican. 

Gordon’s campaign website states he received an accelerated Honors LL.B. law degree from the University of Buckingham in England in 2012, “graduating at the top of his class in Criminology and Criminal Justice.” He received a self-designed Bachelor of Arts degree from The Pennsylvania State University in 1992, with a concentration focused on the legal and public policy issues surrounding cannabis reform.

The GOP’s nominee “has never taken the oath required for admission to the Rhode Island Bar,” according to his campaign biography.

His Democratic opponent, Ahern, who most recently chaired the state’s Cannabis Control Commission, served nine years as a special assistant attorney general under three attorneys general: Peter Neronha, Peter Kilmartin and Patrick Lynch. She later served as deputy counsel to former Gov. Gina Raimondo and deputy chief of staff to Gov. Dan McKee

Early voting begins Oct. 14 ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.