Fact-checking ad claiming Doug Mastriano’s positions on some social issues would cost Pennsylvania jobs – WGAL Susquehanna Valley Pa.

News 8 is fact-checking campaign ads that you may be seeing in some of the most hotly-contested races on the November ballot.A candidate in the Pennsylvania governor’s race is trying to use his opponent’s words against him in television ads.We checked the claims in the ad from Democrat Josh Shapiro, which features clips of his opponent, Republican Doug Mastriano.The ad from Shapiro’s campaign is trying to make the case that Mastriano’s positions on certain social issues would cost Pennsylvania jobs, citing examples of that happening in other states.According to the ad, Mastriano wants to outlaw abortion and gay rights.The clip used for that first claim – that Mastriano wants to outlaw abortion – comes from a Mastriano campaign YouTube video that’s called “The Right to Life.” In it, Mastriano explains his opposition to abortion.Here’s more context to that clip: “The idea that in 2022 we deny science that we’re still told it’s a blob of tissue in a mother’s womb. You know, ‘my body, my choice’ is ridiculous nonsense here,” he said.In a primary debate in April – also on YouTube – Mastriano said he does not support any exemptions for abortion and wants to ban abortion at conception.”I’m at conception. We’re going to have to work our way towards that,” he said during the debate.Later in the debate, he was asked if a woman who has an abortion or doctors who perform abortions should be punished.Mastriano did not answer the part about the woman but said doctors should be punished: “The doctor should be under a Gov. Mastriano because it’s going to be a crime as governor.”So, by using Mastriano’s own words – that abortion would be a crime – we find the ad’s claim that Mastriano wants to outlaw abortion is true.The second claim is that Mastriano wants to outlaw gay rights, specifically referencing same-sex marriage.In the clip, Mastriano is asked whether gay marriage should be legal. His answer is, “Absolutely not.”That clip came from a conservative talk radio show in 2018 when Mastriano ran unsuccessfully for Congress.Here’s his full answer to the question of whether gay marriage should be legal: “Absolutely not. I’m for traditional marriage, and I am not a hater for saying that. It’s been like that for 6,000 years. It was the first institution founded by God in Genesis, and it needs to stay that way.”News 8 reached out to the Mastriano campaign and asked if Mastriano’s opposition to same-sex marriage would mean he would want to outlaw it as governor. His campaign did not respond to four requests for comment over a week.Shapiro’s campaign told News 8 that Mastriano saying he’s only for marriage between a man and a woman and “it needs to stay that way” is its justification for the claim that Mastriano would outlaw same-sex marriage if given the opportunity.Without clarification from Mastriano’s campaign, we feel we do not have enough information to independently conclude that.The last fact check involves the last part of the ad. It states, “Now, Pennsylvania companies have made it clear: Mastriano’s plans will cost Pennsylvania jobs.”The headline you see is from a Pittsburgh news outlet that says a “Pittsburgh company will move operations should PA ban abortions.”It’s a reference to Duolingo, which is headquartered in Pittsburgh.Duolingo told us that headline is a mischaracterization. The company does not have plans to move its operations or cut jobs from Pennsylvania if the state bans abortion.But the CEO tweeted in June that the company would “grow its offices elsewhere” if Pennsylvania banned abortion, which the company told us would end up costing jobs in the state.Shapiro’s campaign also pointed News 8 to an announcement from Google, which has an office in Pittsburgh, reminding employees that they can relocate to a different state. The reminder went out right after the Supreme Court overturned the federal right to an abortion.So, while the text of the claim you see on the screen is not accurate, we find that the narration you hear that “Mastriano’s plans will cost Pennsylvania jobs” is true.