Madison Messenger - December 12th, 2021

www.madisonmessengernews.com November 12, 2021 - MADISON MESSENGER - Page 3
Residents unhappy with vote on abortion ban
By Kristy Zurbrick
Madison Editor
Several London residents attended the
Dec. 2 London city council meeting to express
their disapproval of council’s Nov. 18
decision to vote down legislation calling for
an abortion ban in the city.
Had it passed, the legislation would have
prevented anyone from procuring or performing
abortions within city limits and
would have declared London to be a sanctuary
city for the unborn.
“Despite the fact that legal concerns had
been addressed and despite the overwhelmingly
positive testimony of actual London
residents, as opposed to the out-of-town activists,
you took the coward’s way out,” resident
Danielle Fredette said to council at the
Dec. 2 meeting.
“Your gutless choices regarding the handling
of this issue have not gone unnoticed,
and I am extremely disappointed and intend
to be a lot more active on this and other city
issues in the future, including searching for
and advocating for better and more courageous
candidates for our city council.”
Resident Elizabeth Branson said she attended
several meetings at which the legislation
was discussed and was surprised
council members who claim to be pro-life
voted against it.
“How can the fear of lawsuits overshadow
the decision for life? How can you
put a price tag on a human baby? If you believe
in Jesus Christ and know your Bible,
that is not an option,” Branson said. “Only
if politics and hypocrisy come into play can
you choose pro-choice over life. I urge each
one of you to examine your heart, and perhaps
in the future, by God’s grace and intervention,
this will all turn around. After all,
you were elected by we, the people.”
Resident Lacey Smith commented, “You
decided to appease the anti-life crowd and
to be done with all the pressure and drama
that came with this. How cowardly.”
Carla Blazier, one of five council members
who voted against the abortion ban,
countered some of the residents’ comments
regarding lack of bravery. She noted that
she had spent 44 years as a fire fighter and
42 years as a paramedic, facing dangerous
situations. She noted that she asked questions
of people on both sides of the abortion
ban issue.
“I’ve always tried to do the best for the
people of London in all my careers, including
my career as an emergency room nurse
now,” Blazier said. “And that’s what I felt I
did with my vote. If that’s gutless and (cowardly),
then that’s your opinion.”
Council member Rich Hays also took
issue with the comments about cowardice,
making reference to his time as a police officer
and his military service during the
Vietnam War.
“Don’t ever tell me that I am gutless, or I
don’t have the manhood. I don’t want to ever
hear it. You people don’t know me,” he said,
adding that he prays the U.S. Supreme
Court overturns the Roe vs. Wade decision
to at least some degree.
“Better for the (federal) government to
take care of it, and then the state to take
care of it, than for the city council to take
care of it,” he said.
Brendan Shea, president of Madison
County Right to Life, argued against council
president Henry Comer’s comments from the
Nov. 18 meeting that the proposed abortion
ban received only a “sprinkling of support.”
Shea pointed out that 75 London residents
and other area residents held a march
for life prior to council’s Oct. 7 meeting at
which council member Anthony Smith introduced
the proposed legislation. He noted
that most of those who marched attended
the meeting and 23 of them addressed council,
speaking in favor of the abortion ban.
After reviewing meeting minutes and
other public records, Shea said he found
that 32 London residents registered opinions
with council in favor of the ban. He said
he found that 22 London residents registered
opinions with council in opposition to
the ban. He acknowledged that individuals
who live outside of London sent emails to
council opposing the ban.
“With all due respect, you don’t represent
people in Columbus or Cleveland or California.
You represent the citizens of London,”
Shea said. He then asked Comer to retract
his comments regarding the amount of support
the proposed legislation received.
Resident Michael Norman, who opposed
the legislation because he thought it could
not be enforced, said he understood the comments
of Shea and others regarding the
amount of local support for the ban. Norman
attended several of the meetings at which
the legislation was discussed.
“I felt... that I was the underdog in most
of those meetings. I felt that being against
this, I was the underdog,” he said.
Comer said he would be willing to consider
retracting his comments about levels
of support, but said his issue is not knowing
for sure who all was for or against the ban
at the various meetings. He added that the
bottom line is that, as a statutory city, London
does not have the authority to bring
forth or enforce such legislation.
Some residents said they were surprised
council opted to vote on the legislation on
the second reading, rather than letting it go
for a third reading. Council voted 6-1, with
Smith casting the “no” vote, to suspend the
three-reading rule in order to vote on the
legislation at the Nov. 18 meeting.
“Definitely feels like a low blow to get the
early vote ‘no.’ Seems like we had a lot of
people in the community on board. It just got
shot down,” said resident Luke Plageman.
Council member Hays asked Mayor
Patrick Closser to address the perception
some people might have that council members
met with Closser and planned the vote
prior to the Nov. 18 meeting.
“No one spoke to me about this legislation
except for some of the basic stuff that was
talked with the law director,” Closser said.
Closser was unable to attend the Nov. 18
meeting, so he prepared a recorded statement
that was played during the meeting.
In it, he said he was confident council would
do what’s right for the city and mentioned a
vote.
“When I gave my speech, the reason I said
what I said is because of the feeling I got being
in the meetings—all the committee meetings —
where they said, ‘We’re not going to have this
die in committee. We want to bring it back.
We’re going to take it to a vote.’ ”
Closser also stated at the Dec. 2 meeting
that he had not spoken to representatives
from pro-choice groups or council members
about the proposed legislation.
“When that was brought up about myself
colluding with other people, there’s no truth
to that, and that was a false statement
made by a council member,” he said.
Council member Smith countered, “I
never stated that any council member colluded
with the mayor for this legislation.”
Smith said he found it interesting that, at
the Nov. 18 meeting, he was the only council
member who was surprised when the rule
suspension vote was brought forward.
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