SOUTH BEND, IN – A controversial politician in South Bend, Indiana, sent his Twitter followers a tweet suggesting he looks forward to the day that doctors will be able to screen and selectively abort babies who would grow up to be Republicans.
South Bend Common Council member Henry Davis Jr. touched off a firestorm after he retweeted a message late last month that said, “Maybe if they could have discovered unborn babies with shortage of brain cells you republicans [sic] could have been aborted.”
The South Bend Tribune reports that Davis originally denied sending the tweet, which has since been removed from his account. But a screenshot of the message accompanied a formal complaint filed by Rhonda Richards, the executive assistant at Citizens for Community Values of Indiana, a group dedicated to fighting pornography.
“This is so over the top and offensive it’s hard to know where to begin,” she wrote in a formal complaint submitted on June 30.
Davis' remarks are “devaluing of each life that has a different brain development or is mentally handicapped.”
“His flippant regard for human life in general, is especially disturbing,” she said. “I don’t see how the public or council can trust Henry’s judgment on any issue when he doesn’t seem to even value the most basic – life.”
“The idea that he is so afraid of his potential opponents that he wants children killed before they are born is outrageous,” she said.
Davis maintained that his social media accounts are private and therefore of no concern to voters or council members. However, his Twitter ID is @2nddistrictsb – a reference to his representing the second district of South Bend, the city that is home to Notre Dame University.
St. Joseph Democratic Party Chair Jason Critchlow distanced himself from Davis' remarks. “As a party, we do not agree with his comments and apologize to anyone who may have been offended,” he said.
In addition to the message in question, Davis also retweeted a common anti-pro-life accusation:
@doctorjoe56 @DahmPublishing The GOP only cares about the fetus . After birth , it's F&!K You !
— Rebel Rouser (@bubbadeloach) June 18, 2014
The newest controversy came days after council decided not to take any disciplinary action against Davis for posting a picture on his Facebook page about bestiality that showed a naked man and a dog.
Click “like” if you are PRO-LIFE!
“For at least five months Henry has been revealing who he is,” Richards said. “It’s time to hold him accountable for his actions.”