Paying for sex or drugs can sink a politician’s career — but what about paying for an abortion?

An unnamed Oregon woman alleges that anti-abortion Republican Congressional candidate Mike Erickson encouraged her to have an abortion after she became pregnant, drove her to an abortion clinic for her appointment, and paid for her abortion. “Not only did he pick me up and drove me to the
abortion clinic, he completely encouraged me to do that,” the woman told the Portland Tribune.

This isn’t the first time this issue has come to light. The woman and a friend of hers, Kristi Oetken, considered publicizing this allegation in 2006, when Oregon Right to Life endorsed Erickson’s first run for Congress, but didn’t end up granting interviews on the story. Recently, Erickson’s opponent, Republican Kevin Mannix, referred to the incident in campaign materials, provoking the woman and her friend to conduct interviews with local media.

Erickson’s campaign has referred to the allegations as a "smear tactics and wild accusations," and claimed that Mannix, running behind Erickson, had become "desperate." Oregon Right to Life political director Lois Anderson met with the woman in 2006 and felt that both the she and Erickson were credible. "As idiotic as it sounds, they were both very credible,” Anderson said.