In May 2017, Eastman was involved in a controversy regarding his remarks suggesting that native Alaskan women in villages try to get pregnant on purpose to get a "free trip to the city" for abortion. He claims there are too many 'incentives' to get an abortion and said, "We have folks who try to get pregnant in this state so that they can get a free trip to the city, and we have folks who want to carry their baby past the point of being able to have an abortion in this state so that they can have a free trip to Seattle."[10] He provided no evidence for these statements, but asserted, "a number of people have come to (his) office with stories, experiences."[11]