"I didn’t run for this office to have this battle," Newtown Township Supervisor Kyle Davis said Wednesday night. "I ran for this office to stop overdevelopment like Arcadia, like Village of Newtown, too many shops in the shopping center and public safety when it comes to fire and police."
It sounds to us like Davis is in local government for the right reasons and the editorial board applauds his Wednesday "no" vote on a township resolution supporting a woman's right to choose. It's too bad that he was in the minority when his colleagues, by a 3-1 margin, passed a resolution affirming the "supervisors' commitment to valuing reproductive rights and supporting access to abortion."
Our editorial board's stance on abortion is immaterial here. Had the resolution affirmed the "supervisors' commitment to valuing the sanctity of human life in the womb" we'd still be telling the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors to stay in their lane*.
What is our lane? Title 53 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes that govern Township Supervisors says:
The board of supervisors shall: (1) Be charged with the general governance of the township and the execution of legislative, executive and administrative powers in order to ensure sound fiscal management and to secure the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the township.
Undoubtedly, women's health and welfare is in the "lane" of the duties of supervisors and making abortion illegal without exceptions - which is being advocated by some PA legislators and one Governor hopeful - could have a negative impact on the health, safety, and welfare of a pregnant woman.
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