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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Republican St. Joseph County Councilman Joe Thomas joined all of the Democrat members of the council to ensure a radical abortion advocate was one step closer to becoming the county’s Health Officer. In a 5-4 vote, the County Council approved the appointment of Dr. Michell Migliore; Thomas was the only Republican to vote in favor.
REAL News Michiana reached out to Thomas for comment immediately following the vote on Tuesday evening. Thomas did not respond.
“My (no) vote was solely based on Migliore’s past of helping to restart abortion in St. Joseph County and her handling of COVID mandates (as a member of the health board).” Republican Councilman Dan Schaetzle said regarding his vote against Migliore’s appointment.
The appointment now goes in front of the Republican Controlled County Commissioners for final approval.
BACKGROUND
The process to appoint a person to the Health Officer the position starts with the St. Joseph County Board of Health. On May 10th, the BoH voted unanimously for the appointment of Migliore to the Health Officer position, which is being vacated by Dr. Diana Purushotham.
Two “conservative” members of the board, Ellen Reilander and Dr. Robert Hays, were vocally enthusiastic with their support of the appointment. In fact, Reilander was the member to submit the motion to vote on the appointment, with Dr. Hays submitting the second motion. Both Reilander and Hays were put into their positions on the board by pressure from Republican County Councilwoman and “pro-life advocate” Amy Drake. Drake subsequently voted against the appointment of Migliore at the last council meeting.
Migliore, who is herself a member of the Health Board, abstained from the vote. She has been a member of the health board since before COVID and was not only part of the group pushing insane COVID mandates and radical racial initiatives, she also helped to open an abortion clinic in St. Joseph County in 2019 (A history that Dr. Robert Hays and Ellen Reilander are both familiar with).
MIGLIORE AND ABORTION
In July of 2021, before deciding that she would run for political office, Amy Drake wrote a story about Migliore that was published on REAL News Michiana — all regarding Dr. Migliore’s abortion record.
Abortion in St. Joseph County ended in 2015. At the time, the State revoked the doctor’s license for the provider at the South Bend Women’s Pavilion which ceased operations the following spring. The clinic had operated for almost 40 years. The on-site abortionist, Dr. Ulrich “George” Klopfer, was later found to have stored the remains of more than 2,200 fetuses in his Illinois home. The discovery was made by Klopfer’s family upon his death.
Without an abortion provider in the county, women had to travel Chicago or Merrillville to receive an abortion for several years. Then, in the summer of 2019, abortion returned to the county thanks in part to the efforts of Dr. Michelle Migliore. Migliore signed an emergency services agreement that allowed abortionist Dr. Jeffrey Glazer to circumvent the rule that requires a doctor to be part of a local health system in order to perform abortions in the county.
The agreement, signed in December of 2018, said Migliore agreed “to accept referrals from Dr. Jeffrey Glazer for patients who may require evaluation, treatment or follow up care from any complications from services provided at Whole Woman’s Health of South Bend.”
The Whole Woman’s Health abortion clinic opened in South Bend on Lincoln Way West the following summer. Glazer was the only abortionist on site when the clinic opened. Whole Woman’s Health only ceased operations following Indiana’s new near total abortion ban that took effect last year.
Migliore was appointed to the county health board by Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood about a year after she signed Glazer’s emergency services agreement. It is unclear whether Migliore disclosed her agreement with Glazer to Wood or to anyone associated with her employer, Activate Health and Wellness Center. Mayor Wood could not be reached for comment when this information was published in 2021.
While on the county health board, Migliore voted with all of her colleagues on a resolution to declare racism a public health crisis. Black children in the county are disproportionately affected by abortion. Between June 2019 and January 2021, 116 black children lost their lives at Whole Woman’s Health. This accounts for 22 percent of abortions at the clinic. Blacks make up 13 percent of the county population.
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This is the same guy who joined all Democrats and Dan Schaetzle and voted in favor of the Microsoft Data Center in Granger in spite of overwhelming objection from the community, with a signed petition containing hundreds of names to prove it. Dan claims the support for it from the community outnumbered the objections but has offered zero proof of that claim.
It doesn’t matter what Dan thinks, or the land owner, or others outside of the community who stand to profit from this venture … he was elected to represent his constituency, and given the outcome of the one and only town hall before the County Council meeting, he failed his constituency.
Both Joe and Dan will face the consequences of their actions in the next election.
After those consequences, Joe and Dan will still have their 30 pieces of silver but that area in Granger will be ruined forever.