In Montgomery visit, Pete Buttigieg talks health care; condemns Alabama abortion ban

Brian Lyman | Montgomery Advertiser

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg met with representatives of several local groups in Montgomery on Monday and discussed a range of issues from health care to reproductive rights to prison overpopulation.

Buttigieg, 37, the mayor of South Bend, Ind. since 2012, mixed praise for those he said were "courageously helping women obtain health care" in Alabama with criticism of legislators who had "refused to expand Medicaid, and prioritize the withdrawal and assault on women's reproductive rights.

"What we see in Alabama unfortunately among legislators is a refusal to follow the law of the land," said Buttigieg, in the middle of a southern swing. "Roe v. Wade is the law of the land. It has a majority of the American people supporting this framework."

In May, Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill that bans abortion in Alabama in nearly all cases, including rape and incest. The law, intended as a challenge to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion in the United States, has been temporarily blocked by a federal court.

Buttigieg criticized the law, saying the legislature was "ignoring science, criminalizing abortion, and punishing women." The mayor said as president he would prevent "state-level" interference with abortion access and work to abolish the Hyde Amendment, which prevents the use of medical fund to pay for abortions. At a Fox News event around the time of the Alabama ban, Buttigieg said "I trust women to draw the line" on abortion, a line he repeated on Monday.

"And we need to make sure that when a legal protection is established under our constitution and under our law that that it is respected in the states," he said. "That will be important to me through legislation and through executive authority."

Mia Raven, deputy director of the Yellowhammer Fund, which helps women in Alabama get access to abortions, attended the roundtable event with Buttigieg. She said afterward reproductive rights were discussed, as well as Medicare For All, mass incarceration, and voting rights.

Democrats have been more willing to speak on abortion rights than previous years. raven, who also works as a clinic escort, said she found that encouraging. But she also said that Democrats need to work on codifying abortion access in law, and not just defend Roe v. Wade.

"But like here in Alabama, you can have that right, but if you can’t access it, it means nothing," she said.

More: Federal judge blocks Alabama abortion ban from taking effect

Buttigieg has proposed a public option for health care he refers to as Medicare For All Who Want It, a public option that he says would allow people get affordable health care insurance while keeping private insurance. Buttigieg also says his proposal is more likely to pass Congress than single-payer systems proposed by Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Buttigieg's critics say the plan would leave many people vulnerable to cost increases.

Former vice president Joe Biden accused Buttigieg of stealing his health care plan while campaigning in Iowa. Buttigieg responded on Tuesday. Buttigieg dismissed that criticism on Monday, saying he had spoken about his plan since February, before Biden entered the race.

"I’m glad when there’s overlap among Democrats who have shared values," he said.

Buttigieg also fielded questions about Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., announcing Monday she would drop out of the presidential race.

"She ran a great race," he said. "She is also somebody who is an example for so many when we still have an underrepresentation of black women in leadership. Her leadership, her voice will continue to be extremely important as a national figure."

Buttigieg has struggled to build poll numbers with African-American voters, who will make up a majority of the Alabama Democratic electorate in the March primary. Buttigieg said he "valued the opportunity" to speak with black voters, who he said feel "abused by one party and sometimes feel taken advantage of by the other."

The mayor also visited the National Memorial for Peace and Justice on Monday, and said at the press conference that "we have got to act in our lifetime to dismantle racial inequity or it will, I am convinced, drag down the entire American project."

The lynching memorial, he said, was "a reminder of the unspeakable harm one by white supremacy in this country. But it is also a reminder that things from hundreds of years ago and things going on today are all connected."

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brian Lyman at 334-240-0185 or blyman@gannett.com.