One of the push back arguments we’ve seen about Heath Mello is that he’s just running for Mayor, so his pro-life point of view is irrelevant.
May I introduce you to a little case called Poelker v. Doe*? It was decided by a bunch of men, so maybe we should ignore it. Except the men were in a group we call The Supreme Court, and their decisions matter. Here’s the first paragraph from the decision, with emphasis added:
Respondent Jane Doe, an indigent, sought unsuccessfully to obtain a nontherapeutic abortion at Starkloff Hospital, one of two city-owned public hospitals in St. Louis, Mo. She subsequently brought this class action under 42 U. S. C. § 1983 against the Mayor of St. Louis and the Director of Health and Hospitals, alleging that the refusal by Starkloff Hospital to provide the desired abortion violated her constitutional rights. Although the District Court ruled against Doe following a trial, the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed in an opinion that accepted both her factual and legal arguments. 515 F. 2d 541 (1975).
Here’s another line, from the very next para:
The Court of Appeals concluded that Doe's inability to obtain an abortion resulted from a combination of a policy directive by the Mayor and a longstanding staffing practice at Starkloff Hospital. The directive, communicated to the Director of Health and Hospitals by the Mayor, prohibited the performance of abortions in the city hospitals except when there was a threat of grave physiological injury or death to the mother.
And here’s the penultimate paragraph, upholding the Mayor’s decision as a political one:
In the decision of the Court of Appeals and in the briefs supporting that decision, emphasis is placed on Mayor Poelker's personal opposition to abortion, characterized as "a wanton, callous disregard" for the constitutional rights of indigent women. Although the Mayor's personal position on abortion is irrelevant to our decision, we note that he is an elected official responsible to the people of St. Louis. His policy of denying city funds for abortions such as that desired by Doe is subject to public debate and approval or disapproval at the polls. We merely hold, for the reasons stated in Maher, that the Constitution does not forbid a State or city, pursuant to democratic processes, from expressing a preference for normal childbirth as St. Louis has done.
Don’t tell me mayors don’t matter.
And, of course, if you believe Mello plans to stop at mayor, rather than using it as a launching point for later office, well, I’ve got a bridge to sell you. And perhaps you forget who controls the police, the people who do, or don’t keep protesters away from the clinic doors, and who are supposed to protect the doctors, nurses, and other workers at the clinics.
But most important of all, why the red-headed fuck are we seeing, on Daily Kos, defense of a guy who voted to prohibit insurance coverage of abortions, to ban abortions after 20 weeks, to require ultrasounds before abortions, and more?
Oh yeah, because Bernie endorsed him.
Psssst, come here, I want to tell you a secret. Closer. Closer. Okay, lean in here …
THE WOMAN CARRYING AN ANENCEPHALIC FETUS DOESN’T GIVE A FLYING FUCK WHO BERNIE ENDORSED, YOU ASSHOLES!
*432 U.S. 519 (1977)