Mean Jean Won't Uphold Upcoming Missouri Abortion Ban?!?

The impact of a Supreme Court switcheroo will resonate in Kansas City and threatens to spark a constitutional crisis at the courthouse.

Here's some of the sitch . . .

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, whose term runs through 2024, co-chairs the Addressing Disparities to Reproductive Health Advisory Committee of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. The committee released a statement on May 5, four days after the draft became public, calling the threat of criminal sanctions for reproductive health care “an injustice.”

Now . . .

What's important is that "Mean Jean" isn't taking any questions on this issue in order to clarify the statement that didn't get much play in any other place but the newspaper. 

Here's the word for now . . .

Association of Prosecuting Attorneys and Addressing Disparities to Reproductive Health Advisory Committee Releases Statement on the Criminalization of Abortion

“As prosecutors, our clients are the people, and our principal duty is to seek justice within the bounds of the law. Our duty is to serve the public interest, respect the rights of all people, and to exercise discretion to pursue criminal charges only in appropriate circumstances. We refrain from doing so when it negatively impacts public welfare, undermines safety, or furthers inequities.”

“Healthcare, including abortion, and its attendant decision-making processes are private medical matters. Law enforcement, including prosecutors, should not be thrust into this realm. Laws that criminalize healthcare do not protect the public, but instead cost lives. Such laws impede safe medical care and prevent individuals from seeking healthcare services for fear of prosecution, alienating communities, thereby causing dangerous outcomes.”

“Forcing prosecutors into the public health space erodes the institutional integrity of the profession and destroys the trust of communities we took oaths to protect. This compromises public safety. Our responsibilities to our communities, both to safeguard and to inform, are paramount. Threatening our communities with criminal sanctions for reproductive healthcare is an injustice.”

“Prosecutorial discretion for criminal charging decisions is fundamental to our sworn duty to the pursuit of justice. We will exercise that discretion to limit the erosion of reproductive rights. We oppose the criminalization of abortion.”

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