How do anti-abortion rights Democrats fit in their party?

• Ed Mahon
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  Ed Mahon comes to Spotlight PA from PA Post, where he covered state politics and policy, produced radio stories that were broadcast on public media stations throughout the state and on NPR’s national newscasts, and co-wrote a weekday newsletter. Prior to joining PA Post, Ed worked for six years as an investigative and political reporter for the York Daily Record, part of the USA Today Network. His reporting on failures in Pennsylvania’s system for protecting domestic abuse victims was a finalist in the national 2018 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists in the local reporting category. He was also part of a team whose coverage of the criminal justice system, including the aggressive use of civil asset forfeiture by York County prosecutors, received the 2018 G. Richard Dew Award for Journalistic Service from the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. Before joining the York Daily Record, Ed covered K-12 education at the Centre Daily Times in State College and worked as a stringer for suburban sections of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He grew up in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

 Mel Evans / Associated Press

In this file photo, Sen. Bob Casey, Jr., D-Pa., speaks during a campaign rally with Vice President Joe Biden and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, in Scranton, Pa.

From The Context, PA Post’s weekday email newsletter:

Bob Casey Jr.’s unique position

Mel Evans / Associated Press

In this file photo, Sen. Bob Casey, Jr., D-Pa., speaks during a campaign rally with Vice President Joe Biden and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, in Scranton, Pa.

• U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. opposes the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established a woman’s legal right to an abortion. But, The Morning Call of Allentown reports, the self-described pro-life Democrat doesn’t support the courts-based approach of overturning the Roe precedent.

• Last year, WHYY’s Dave Davies explained the “tightrope act Casey walks in garnering political support as a Democrat while trying to stay true to his ideals.” Casey’s father, you might recall, is a former governor of Pennsylvania and part of the namesake for the 1992 Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Caseydecision, which reaffirmed the right to an abortion but also imposed an “undue burden” standard for allowing restrictions.

• And earlier this month, Stephen Caruso of the Pennsylvania Capital-Star looked at the Democratic and Republican lawmakers who broke with their party over a bill to ban abortions that are chosen based on a Down syndrome diagnosis. One Democrat from Greene County told Caruso that she feels like “a lone wolf.”

Best of the rest

Courtesy of DEP

Young peregrine falcons living on a ledge of Harrisburg’s Rachel Carson building regard several state biologists with suspicion.

• WITF’s Katie Meyer got some great sound for a story about the Rachel Carson falcons in Harrisburg and the biologists who track them — and who try to avoid getting whacked by their parents. You can read and listen to Katie’s story here.

• If it seems like there’s been a lot of tornadoes this year or more tornado warnings, well, we had already hit our yearly average by this weekend, the Associated Press reported. There were 16 tornadoes with preliminary confirmation in the state.

• No to smoking. Yes to free Wi-Fi. Those are some of the ideas to recruit younger members into American Legion posts. Ximena Conde has more about the decline in the number of posts for WHYY.