Congressional Contact Information
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If you would like to write or speak to your U.S. senator or representative about a prolife issue or law, CLICK HERE
Legislation
Updates:
Why a Dismemberment Abortion Ban?
Since New York’s Legislature cheered legislation endorsing abortion-on-demand through all nine months of pregnancy, the prolife movement has been on the move. Many people who considered themselves prolife but didn’t commit themselves to regular efforts to end abortion have suddenly been awakened, angered, and activated.
In recent years, the prolife movement has been very successful pursuing prolife legislation on the state level. In just the last few months, that activity has become even more energized. Not only are more people getting involved, but with the replacement of pro-abortion U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, Roe v. Wade faces its first real danger in a generation.
Many people new to the movement have seen prolife legislation being passed in other states and are wondering what Michigan will do as a response to New York and other states supporting abortion-on-demand. In Michigan, our focus will be a ban on the dismemberment abortion procedure (also called a D&E abortion).
Sadly, in Michigan, this prolife crescendo came at a bad time. Michigan went from having an indifferent governor in Rick Snyder to now having an actively pro-abortion governor in Gretchen Whitmer. The silver lining is Michigan voters returned prolife majorities to the state legislature.
Right to Life of Michigan will work to advance all legislation possible, but in light of this split in Michigan government, there’s only a few prolife bills likely to be supported by both the Legislature and Governor Whitmer. These bills probably won’t deal directly with abortion, unless Governor Whitmer has a miraculous change of heart.
However, Michigan’s Constitution has a provision that doesn’t require miracles for prolife bills to become laws in this situation—all it requires is hard work, and tons of it. Citizens can initiate legislation directly to the Legislature by collecting a large number of signatures. If the Michigan House and Senate approve the legislation, it becomes law without any input from the governor.
Right to Life of Michigan and our dozens of local affiliates have been very successful in the past using these petition drives, most recently in 2013. We’ve used it to pass legislation to require parental consent for minor teens seeking abortions, ban partial birth abortion, and prevent insurance from becoming part of every health insurance plan. Our 1987 petition drive to end Medicaid-funded abortions in Michigan has saved an estimated 228,917 lives so far!
We still want to provide Governor Whitmer with opportunities to do the right thing and send her prolife bills. However, the most likely scenario is that any big, impactful prolife bills in the next two years will require prolifers to engage in a gigantic grassroot effort to collect hundreds of thousands of signatures in the span of several weeks. Such an effort requires a laser-like focus, and for the next two years the focus of Right to Life of Michigan and our affiliates is on a bill to ban dismemberment abortion.
Why a dismemberment ban? Several other states have advanced different pieces of big, impactful prolife legislation: bans on abortion after 20 weeks, heartbeat bans, bans on sex-selection abortion, banning abortions targeting children with disabilities, and some have passed dismemberment bans. Some have passed a combination of two or more of these bills.
Michigan is unique. Michigan has an important Michigan Supreme Court precedent from 1973, shortly after Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton were decided. Michigan law has banned abortion except to save the life of the mother since 1846. After Roe was decided in 1973, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in People v. Bricker that Roe and Doe are only blocking enforcement of Michigan's law; Michigan's law was not repealed. Our abortion ban is in legal effect, but only partially-enforceable at the moment.
Our situation is truly unique. The day Roe v. Wade is overturned, our law has an opportunity to go back into effect. So, Michigan law already bans abortions after 20 weeks, or after a heartbeat is detected, or abortion targeted at a specific demographic. For any of those laws to go into effect, Roe likely needs to be completely overturned; when Roe is overturned, any of those laws would become legally pointless in Michigan since our ban covers them anyway. Other states are not so lucky; very few will have the opportunity to immediately end abortion after Roe goes.
A ban on dismemberment abortion is different from those other laws in two important ways. It too would be legally pointless if Roe v. Wade is overturned and our ban is restored to full effect, but what if Roe is not overturned completely? Some speculate that the current conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court will dismantle Roe v. Wade piece by piece over the course of years rather than consigning it directly to the ash heap of history in which it belongs.
In his opinion upholding a ban on partial-birth abortion, pro-abortion Justice Anthony Kennedy specifically mentioned dismemberment abortion as a similarly violent procedure. His opinion laid a clear legal path forward, meaning a dismemberment abortion ban is the most likely piece of big prolife legislation to be upheld. It’s the most likely next step of the U.S. Supreme Court. Of course, the U.S. Supreme Court can also use a dismemberment ban to completely overturn Roe v. Wade if they wish.
We’re happy that other states with prolife governors and state legislatures are pursuing those other bills if they can’t yet pass a 100% prolife ban like Michigan has. However, we only have the opportunity to get one big, impactful bill done before 2020, so Michigan should focus our time on a bill that has the most chance of actually being legally enforceable and thus actually saving lives.
Those bills in other states do have important educational messages that focus people on the humanity of the child in the womb. Our dismemberment abortion ban also has a vital educational message, one that focuses people on the violent nature of abortion. It’s easier for the prolife movement to inform people about fetal development facts, but extremely more difficult to effectively educate people about the inherent violence of abortion procedures. By pursuing a dismemberment ban, we’re forcing the media and our opponents to confront the issue. It gives us the opportunity to use excellent resources to help people understand how abortion works.
The greatest gain in prolife opinion in recent decades was because of partial-birth abortion bans. Our dismemberment abortion ban mirrors legislation to ban partial-birth abortions (in fact, we’re just amending our state’s partial-birth ban by adding dismemberment abortions to it). It also will mirror the educational effort to help people understand that abortion takes the life of a unique human being in horrifically barbaric fashion. It will hopefully mirror the large prolife shift in public opinion.
For the foreseeable future, we are focused on working through the legislative process on our dismemberment abortion ban to give Governor Whitmer a chance to enact it. Whether or not we have to collect several hundred thousand signatures to help pass the ban, you have a wonderful grassroots opportunity here. Please use this opportunity to focus your efforts on informing your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers and others about the violence of dismemberment abortion.
For details as we work through this process and for news and resources to help you in your personal educational grassroots campaign, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, our bi-weekly podcast, or sign-up for our weekly e-mail on RTL.org. Now is the time to inform your fellow citizens so that Michigan never becomes New York.
Taken from Right to Life of Michigan website.
In recent years, the prolife movement has been very successful pursuing prolife legislation on the state level. In just the last few months, that activity has become even more energized. Not only are more people getting involved, but with the replacement of pro-abortion U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, Roe v. Wade faces its first real danger in a generation.
Many people new to the movement have seen prolife legislation being passed in other states and are wondering what Michigan will do as a response to New York and other states supporting abortion-on-demand. In Michigan, our focus will be a ban on the dismemberment abortion procedure (also called a D&E abortion).
Sadly, in Michigan, this prolife crescendo came at a bad time. Michigan went from having an indifferent governor in Rick Snyder to now having an actively pro-abortion governor in Gretchen Whitmer. The silver lining is Michigan voters returned prolife majorities to the state legislature.
Right to Life of Michigan will work to advance all legislation possible, but in light of this split in Michigan government, there’s only a few prolife bills likely to be supported by both the Legislature and Governor Whitmer. These bills probably won’t deal directly with abortion, unless Governor Whitmer has a miraculous change of heart.
However, Michigan’s Constitution has a provision that doesn’t require miracles for prolife bills to become laws in this situation—all it requires is hard work, and tons of it. Citizens can initiate legislation directly to the Legislature by collecting a large number of signatures. If the Michigan House and Senate approve the legislation, it becomes law without any input from the governor.
Right to Life of Michigan and our dozens of local affiliates have been very successful in the past using these petition drives, most recently in 2013. We’ve used it to pass legislation to require parental consent for minor teens seeking abortions, ban partial birth abortion, and prevent insurance from becoming part of every health insurance plan. Our 1987 petition drive to end Medicaid-funded abortions in Michigan has saved an estimated 228,917 lives so far!
We still want to provide Governor Whitmer with opportunities to do the right thing and send her prolife bills. However, the most likely scenario is that any big, impactful prolife bills in the next two years will require prolifers to engage in a gigantic grassroot effort to collect hundreds of thousands of signatures in the span of several weeks. Such an effort requires a laser-like focus, and for the next two years the focus of Right to Life of Michigan and our affiliates is on a bill to ban dismemberment abortion.
Why a dismemberment ban? Several other states have advanced different pieces of big, impactful prolife legislation: bans on abortion after 20 weeks, heartbeat bans, bans on sex-selection abortion, banning abortions targeting children with disabilities, and some have passed dismemberment bans. Some have passed a combination of two or more of these bills.
Michigan is unique. Michigan has an important Michigan Supreme Court precedent from 1973, shortly after Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton were decided. Michigan law has banned abortion except to save the life of the mother since 1846. After Roe was decided in 1973, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in People v. Bricker that Roe and Doe are only blocking enforcement of Michigan's law; Michigan's law was not repealed. Our abortion ban is in legal effect, but only partially-enforceable at the moment.
Our situation is truly unique. The day Roe v. Wade is overturned, our law has an opportunity to go back into effect. So, Michigan law already bans abortions after 20 weeks, or after a heartbeat is detected, or abortion targeted at a specific demographic. For any of those laws to go into effect, Roe likely needs to be completely overturned; when Roe is overturned, any of those laws would become legally pointless in Michigan since our ban covers them anyway. Other states are not so lucky; very few will have the opportunity to immediately end abortion after Roe goes.
A ban on dismemberment abortion is different from those other laws in two important ways. It too would be legally pointless if Roe v. Wade is overturned and our ban is restored to full effect, but what if Roe is not overturned completely? Some speculate that the current conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court will dismantle Roe v. Wade piece by piece over the course of years rather than consigning it directly to the ash heap of history in which it belongs.
In his opinion upholding a ban on partial-birth abortion, pro-abortion Justice Anthony Kennedy specifically mentioned dismemberment abortion as a similarly violent procedure. His opinion laid a clear legal path forward, meaning a dismemberment abortion ban is the most likely piece of big prolife legislation to be upheld. It’s the most likely next step of the U.S. Supreme Court. Of course, the U.S. Supreme Court can also use a dismemberment ban to completely overturn Roe v. Wade if they wish.
We’re happy that other states with prolife governors and state legislatures are pursuing those other bills if they can’t yet pass a 100% prolife ban like Michigan has. However, we only have the opportunity to get one big, impactful bill done before 2020, so Michigan should focus our time on a bill that has the most chance of actually being legally enforceable and thus actually saving lives.
Those bills in other states do have important educational messages that focus people on the humanity of the child in the womb. Our dismemberment abortion ban also has a vital educational message, one that focuses people on the violent nature of abortion. It’s easier for the prolife movement to inform people about fetal development facts, but extremely more difficult to effectively educate people about the inherent violence of abortion procedures. By pursuing a dismemberment ban, we’re forcing the media and our opponents to confront the issue. It gives us the opportunity to use excellent resources to help people understand how abortion works.
The greatest gain in prolife opinion in recent decades was because of partial-birth abortion bans. Our dismemberment abortion ban mirrors legislation to ban partial-birth abortions (in fact, we’re just amending our state’s partial-birth ban by adding dismemberment abortions to it). It also will mirror the educational effort to help people understand that abortion takes the life of a unique human being in horrifically barbaric fashion. It will hopefully mirror the large prolife shift in public opinion.
For the foreseeable future, we are focused on working through the legislative process on our dismemberment abortion ban to give Governor Whitmer a chance to enact it. Whether or not we have to collect several hundred thousand signatures to help pass the ban, you have a wonderful grassroots opportunity here. Please use this opportunity to focus your efforts on informing your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers and others about the violence of dismemberment abortion.
For details as we work through this process and for news and resources to help you in your personal educational grassroots campaign, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, our bi-weekly podcast, or sign-up for our weekly e-mail on RTL.org. Now is the time to inform your fellow citizens so that Michigan never becomes New York.
Taken from Right to Life of Michigan website.
|
Democrats are now the party of infanticide, and no one can deny it |
By Jonathon Van Maren
The Democrats have overplayed their hand. I’ve never seen such a suicidal strategy on the part of pro-abortion progressives—and it proves that they’re getting genuinely desperate.
For decades, abortion activists and their political allies have wisely attempted to avoid the topic of late-term abortion entirely. Many insisted that partial-birth abortion simply did not exist, strategists warned behind closed doors that defending late-term abortion was a sure way to drive more people into the pro-life camp, and Nancy Pelosi even responded to a question about late-term abortion by ducking, dodging, and then demanding that her questioner be ashamed of himself because the question of killing third trimester infants is apparently “sacred ground” to her.
But then Hillary Clinton, the champion of the abortion industry, lost her bid for the presidency. She did so, it must be added, defending abortion at any stage in pregnancy, sending even reluctant pro-life voters into the Republican fold, but that lesson apparently remains unlearned. Clinton’s loss induced a well-publicized meltdown that continued with the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and reached a crescendo with the collective shriek of rage and fear that met the replacement of Justice Anthony Kennedy with Brett Kavanaugh.
Progressives are now terrified that Roe v. Wade will be overturned and that legal abortion in the United States might be under threat. One abortion activist and journalist, Robin Marty, has already released a Handbook for a Post-Roe America and is warning her ideological allies that Roe’s days are numbered. I’m not so sure about that. …
But the best evidence for the desperation of abortion activists is their decision to whole-heartedly embrace late-term abortion. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo lit up landmarks with pink light to celebrate a bill that essentially permitted abortion until birth. In Virginia, Democratic delegate Kathy Tran put forward a similar bill, and when questioned by Republican Todd Gilbert, admitted that her bill permitted abortion until forty weeks.
Even, Gilbert asked, when “she has physical signs that she is about to give birth? She’s dilating?” There was an awkward silence, and then Tran’s response: “My bill would allow that, yes.” That same day, Tran had submitted a bill to protect caterpillars at certain stages.
Just as the wave of shock and outrage that met the New York late-term abortion bill had begun to recede, the Virginia bill set the debate ablaze once again. When Governor Ralph Northam attempted to defend the bill in an interview, he ended up simply horrifying people even further. “If a mother is in labor,” he stated, “I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated, if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.”
In other words, late-term abortion involves killing an infant if the family decides to—and infants born alive could be left to die.
Videos of these exchanges have gone viral, racking up millions of hits. To many people, the agenda of the Democrats has suddenly become crystal clear: They are the party of abortion, regardless of how barbaric the procedure is.
Democrat politicians are so afraid of recent pro-life gains and pro-life judicial appointments that they seem willing to stake out this ground, come hell or high water—and in doing so, they have tipped their hand. They are becoming, as Trump recently tweeted, “the party of late-term abortion.”
Trump also spoke for many when he noted that he had seen the defences of late-term abortion and simply found them “terrible,” reminding people of a famous [presidential] debate moment: “Do you remember when I said Hillary Clinton was willing to rip the baby out of the womb? That’s what it is, that’s what they’re doing, it’s terrible…This is going to lift up the whole pro-life movement like maybe it’s never been lifted up before. The pro-life movement is very much a 50-50, it’s a very 50-50 issue, actually it’s gained a point or two over the years. I think this will very much lift up the issue because people have never thought of it in those terms.”
That is precisely right. Ironically, as the Democrats scramble to protect the abortion industry, their morbid enthusiasm for prenatal infanticide is causing ordinary Americans to recoil in horror. Vice President Mike Pence responded to the late-term abortion bills by penning an editorial for the National Review, noting that these procedures violate “every demand of human decency,” and that in his opinion, the “New York and Virginia bills aren’t some bold departure into a brave new world. They are the last gasp of a dying movement that stands in stark and irreconcilable contrast with our nation’s timeless founding principles.”
I hope the vice president is correct. I do think that this is a significant moment in the abortion debate, the moment where the Democratic Party abandoned all pretence of caution and threw their lot in with those who demand the right to kill babies right up until the moment of birth, and occasionally even after. Men like Ralph Northam demanded that everybody see him as the compassionate one in the debate, and nobody bought it. Because Cuomo and Tran and Northam were so blunt about what it was that their bills would permit and facilitate, they could not deny that these bills were death warrants for full-term babies. Perhaps they forgot how ugly and extreme that is.
If they did, the American people are letting them know, loudly and clearly.
Editor’s note. This appeared at LifeSiteNews and is reposted with permission.
The Democrats have overplayed their hand. I’ve never seen such a suicidal strategy on the part of pro-abortion progressives—and it proves that they’re getting genuinely desperate.
For decades, abortion activists and their political allies have wisely attempted to avoid the topic of late-term abortion entirely. Many insisted that partial-birth abortion simply did not exist, strategists warned behind closed doors that defending late-term abortion was a sure way to drive more people into the pro-life camp, and Nancy Pelosi even responded to a question about late-term abortion by ducking, dodging, and then demanding that her questioner be ashamed of himself because the question of killing third trimester infants is apparently “sacred ground” to her.
But then Hillary Clinton, the champion of the abortion industry, lost her bid for the presidency. She did so, it must be added, defending abortion at any stage in pregnancy, sending even reluctant pro-life voters into the Republican fold, but that lesson apparently remains unlearned. Clinton’s loss induced a well-publicized meltdown that continued with the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and reached a crescendo with the collective shriek of rage and fear that met the replacement of Justice Anthony Kennedy with Brett Kavanaugh.
Progressives are now terrified that Roe v. Wade will be overturned and that legal abortion in the United States might be under threat. One abortion activist and journalist, Robin Marty, has already released a Handbook for a Post-Roe America and is warning her ideological allies that Roe’s days are numbered. I’m not so sure about that. …
But the best evidence for the desperation of abortion activists is their decision to whole-heartedly embrace late-term abortion. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo lit up landmarks with pink light to celebrate a bill that essentially permitted abortion until birth. In Virginia, Democratic delegate Kathy Tran put forward a similar bill, and when questioned by Republican Todd Gilbert, admitted that her bill permitted abortion until forty weeks.
Even, Gilbert asked, when “she has physical signs that she is about to give birth? She’s dilating?” There was an awkward silence, and then Tran’s response: “My bill would allow that, yes.” That same day, Tran had submitted a bill to protect caterpillars at certain stages.
Just as the wave of shock and outrage that met the New York late-term abortion bill had begun to recede, the Virginia bill set the debate ablaze once again. When Governor Ralph Northam attempted to defend the bill in an interview, he ended up simply horrifying people even further. “If a mother is in labor,” he stated, “I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated, if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.”
In other words, late-term abortion involves killing an infant if the family decides to—and infants born alive could be left to die.
Videos of these exchanges have gone viral, racking up millions of hits. To many people, the agenda of the Democrats has suddenly become crystal clear: They are the party of abortion, regardless of how barbaric the procedure is.
Democrat politicians are so afraid of recent pro-life gains and pro-life judicial appointments that they seem willing to stake out this ground, come hell or high water—and in doing so, they have tipped their hand. They are becoming, as Trump recently tweeted, “the party of late-term abortion.”
Trump also spoke for many when he noted that he had seen the defences of late-term abortion and simply found them “terrible,” reminding people of a famous [presidential] debate moment: “Do you remember when I said Hillary Clinton was willing to rip the baby out of the womb? That’s what it is, that’s what they’re doing, it’s terrible…This is going to lift up the whole pro-life movement like maybe it’s never been lifted up before. The pro-life movement is very much a 50-50, it’s a very 50-50 issue, actually it’s gained a point or two over the years. I think this will very much lift up the issue because people have never thought of it in those terms.”
That is precisely right. Ironically, as the Democrats scramble to protect the abortion industry, their morbid enthusiasm for prenatal infanticide is causing ordinary Americans to recoil in horror. Vice President Mike Pence responded to the late-term abortion bills by penning an editorial for the National Review, noting that these procedures violate “every demand of human decency,” and that in his opinion, the “New York and Virginia bills aren’t some bold departure into a brave new world. They are the last gasp of a dying movement that stands in stark and irreconcilable contrast with our nation’s timeless founding principles.”
I hope the vice president is correct. I do think that this is a significant moment in the abortion debate, the moment where the Democratic Party abandoned all pretence of caution and threw their lot in with those who demand the right to kill babies right up until the moment of birth, and occasionally even after. Men like Ralph Northam demanded that everybody see him as the compassionate one in the debate, and nobody bought it. Because Cuomo and Tran and Northam were so blunt about what it was that their bills would permit and facilitate, they could not deny that these bills were death warrants for full-term babies. Perhaps they forgot how ugly and extreme that is.
If they did, the American people are letting them know, loudly and clearly.
Editor’s note. This appeared at LifeSiteNews and is reposted with permission.
Did the Mainstream Media Make a Mistake?
On January 22, 2010 over 650,000 people came to Washington DC for the March for Life. Vice President Pence was there to join us in delivering a message on life. He along with others such as Senator from Montana, Steve Daines, Congressman Dan Lipinski, Congressman Chris Smith, Ben Shapiro, Dr. Alveda King, and more, came to take a stand for life. From what I saw, there was little to no coverage in the main stream media on this positive event that supports and stands boldly for the life of the unborn. In fact, USA Today said, "Thousands of anti-abortion activists, including many young people bundled up against the cold weather gripping the nation's capital, gathered at a stage on the National Mall Friday for their annual march in the long-contentious debate over abortion."
However, what you did hear about in mainstream media is about a group of young men that came to Washington DC to take a stand for life. You heard at first about them being accused of racial slurs, surrounding an older Native American, and acting in a way that was not very becoming to the cause they were just supporting.
The media blasted these young men. Made them out to be young, white, bullies that were wearing their MAGA hats.
This was sure convenient for the media. They now had a story that would take over the news outlets and not let the nation focus on the peaceful demonstration that was held. It was to come out later, the full footage of what really transpired between the young men, the Native American, and the Black Hebrew Israelites. To whoever captured the whole footage of what transpired, God bless you for releasing the truth.
The sad part to me is this, our nation never really heard about the greatness of those 650,000 people coming together to march with one focus, in unity, together, braving the cold. They came to say, "Life is important. These children that are being aborted are important and they have a future ahead of them. They are there to say that this horrible practice needs to stop. "
Let us not forget the message. Continue to pray until each unborn child rests safely in their mother's womb until it is time for them to come forth. Pray for our Senators, Congressmen and women. Pray for our President and Vice President and their families. Pray for your other pro life brothers and sisters that we stand strong and speak out. That we rise to the occasion.
Until They Are All Safe,
Deb Cutlip
Legislative Director, Berrien County Right to Life Chapter
However, what you did hear about in mainstream media is about a group of young men that came to Washington DC to take a stand for life. You heard at first about them being accused of racial slurs, surrounding an older Native American, and acting in a way that was not very becoming to the cause they were just supporting.
The media blasted these young men. Made them out to be young, white, bullies that were wearing their MAGA hats.
This was sure convenient for the media. They now had a story that would take over the news outlets and not let the nation focus on the peaceful demonstration that was held. It was to come out later, the full footage of what really transpired between the young men, the Native American, and the Black Hebrew Israelites. To whoever captured the whole footage of what transpired, God bless you for releasing the truth.
The sad part to me is this, our nation never really heard about the greatness of those 650,000 people coming together to march with one focus, in unity, together, braving the cold. They came to say, "Life is important. These children that are being aborted are important and they have a future ahead of them. They are there to say that this horrible practice needs to stop. "
Let us not forget the message. Continue to pray until each unborn child rests safely in their mother's womb until it is time for them to come forth. Pray for our Senators, Congressmen and women. Pray for our President and Vice President and their families. Pray for your other pro life brothers and sisters that we stand strong and speak out. That we rise to the occasion.
Until They Are All Safe,
Deb Cutlip
Legislative Director, Berrien County Right to Life Chapter
New York Abortion Bill
Our hearts are breaking for our nation right now. This past couple of weeks have rocked our nation. Jay Sekulow called it "the most barbaric abortion law that's ever been passed." Our nation is now more divided than ever.
New York's Governor, Andrew Cuomo, has now signed into law, abortions that are now able to be preformed on an infant still inside of it's mother, up until the moment of it's birth. This removes any criminal legal protections under New York's law for unborn babies.
Please be praying for those in New York and for the states that are following in their footsteps.
For more information from the American Center for Law and Justice and a video from founder Jay Sekulow, click here.
New York's Governor, Andrew Cuomo, has now signed into law, abortions that are now able to be preformed on an infant still inside of it's mother, up until the moment of it's birth. This removes any criminal legal protections under New York's law for unborn babies.
Please be praying for those in New York and for the states that are following in their footsteps.
For more information from the American Center for Law and Justice and a video from founder Jay Sekulow, click here.
No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 238-183 on January 24, 2017, for H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, to make the Hyde Amendment permanent. The Hyde Amendment is annual legislation attached to the budget which prevents your tax dollars from paying directly for most abortions. The legislation now goes to the U.S. Senate for consideration, where it may have a filibuster from the pro-abortion minority of senators.
ACTION NEEDED: Contact Senator Debbie Stabenow and Senator Gary Peters and tell them: "Please support S. 184, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. A majority of Americans oppose our tax dollars being used to pay for abortions."
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 238-183 on January 24, 2017, for H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, to make the Hyde Amendment permanent. The Hyde Amendment is annual legislation attached to the budget which prevents your tax dollars from paying directly for most abortions. The legislation now goes to the U.S. Senate for consideration, where it may have a filibuster from the pro-abortion minority of senators.
ACTION NEEDED: Contact Senator Debbie Stabenow and Senator Gary Peters and tell them: "Please support S. 184, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. A majority of Americans oppose our tax dollars being used to pay for abortions."
Stop Dismemberment Abortions
Protecting unborn children from the brutality of dismemberment abortions is a legislative priority for Michigan. A law is needed because D&E dismemberment abortions are as brutal as the partial-birth abortion method, which is now illegal in Michigan and the United States. Legislation has been introduced in the Michigan House adding D&E dismemberment abortions to our state's ban on partial-birth abortion. Learn more about dismemberment abortions.
ACTION NEEDED: Circulate the Petition to End Dismemberment Abortions. The petition can be found here.
Protecting unborn children from the brutality of dismemberment abortions is a legislative priority for Michigan. A law is needed because D&E dismemberment abortions are as brutal as the partial-birth abortion method, which is now illegal in Michigan and the United States. Legislation has been introduced in the Michigan House adding D&E dismemberment abortions to our state's ban on partial-birth abortion. Learn more about dismemberment abortions.
ACTION NEEDED: Circulate the Petition to End Dismemberment Abortions. The petition can be found here.
Lyin' About Late-Term Abortions"Lie" and "gaslighting" are strong words, but they are necessary to use in this case.
Yesterday a majority of the U.S. Senate voted to ban most abortions past 20 weeks based on evidence that the unborn child can feel pain. The bill was blocked by a filibuster of 44 Democrats and 2 Republicans.
The most frequent argument against the bill that we saw was that most women who have abortions past 20 weeks have some health issue, or the child has a fatal condition or disability. Here's an example, from Planned Parenthood:
It's a bad argument for three reasons:
A) Killing someone is not an appropriate response to suffering.
B) Having a disability doesn't diminish your human rights.
C) It isn't true. It's a lie.
It's not like this is a mistake, or an assumption, or wishful thinking. Planned Parenthood's own favorite research institution has studied the issue. They found most women who have late-term abortions past 20 weeks fit one of these five profiles:
Yesterday a majority of the U.S. Senate voted to ban most abortions past 20 weeks based on evidence that the unborn child can feel pain. The bill was blocked by a filibuster of 44 Democrats and 2 Republicans.
The most frequent argument against the bill that we saw was that most women who have abortions past 20 weeks have some health issue, or the child has a fatal condition or disability. Here's an example, from Planned Parenthood:
It's a bad argument for three reasons:
A) Killing someone is not an appropriate response to suffering.
B) Having a disability doesn't diminish your human rights.
C) It isn't true. It's a lie.
It's not like this is a mistake, or an assumption, or wishful thinking. Planned Parenthood's own favorite research institution has studied the issue. They found most women who have late-term abortions past 20 weeks fit one of these five profiles:
1) Single mothers with other children.
2) Depression or substance abuse.
3) Relationship issues or domestic violence.
4) Trouble deciding earlier in the pregnancy.
5) Young and without children.
These are reasons for many early abortions as well. Conspicuously absent is any mention of a child with a disability or health issues.
It's also a disingenuous argument. Planned Parenthood doesn't oppose a ban on late-term abortions because of health issues, they oppose them because they believe no unborn child has a right to life at any point in pregnancy. If such an exception were included in a late-term ban, Planned Parenthood would move on to a completely different and equally-deceptive argument to oppose it. Planned Parenthood knows that late-term abortion bans usually poll in the 60 percent range, and that even many self-identified pro-choice Democrats support such bans, so they have to skirt the issue.
Planned Parenthood gaslights the public, they gaslight the media, and they gaslight their own supporters. Gaslighting is a term for emotional/mental abuse that involves repeatedly lying and deceiving someone, with the goal of having them question their own perceptions and instead rely on the deceptive person for their view of reality.
Practically every common argument or talking point from the abortion industry involves deception of some kind: only 3 percent of Planned Parenthood's work involves abortions, "heavily edited" undercover videos involving fetal tissue trafficking, Planned Parenthood's fictitious mammogram machines, or the lie that launched the movement into the mainstream itself: back alley abortions. We could go on and on.
Why do Planned Parenthood and others do this? Because the second you acknowledge even a sliver of the truth or the humanity of the unborn child, the entire abortion house of cards comes tumbling down. Abortion rests on the idea that a child has zero moral worth before the moment of birth, or as former Sen. Barbara Boxer put it, a baby doesn't have value until you take her home from the hospital.
Just yesterday in discussing with someone the reasons women have abortions past 20 weeks, the person was unable to accept that the study discussed above from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute was legitimate. The person claimed the study was about abortion after 14 weeks, even though the title of the study is, "Who Seeks Abortions at or After 20 Weeks?". She was unable to accept the truth, and confabulated a reason to ignore the evidence.
That's why you can show someone a video of Planned Parenthood talking in their own words about selling the organs of aborted babies, and the person will likely find an excuse to assume what they've just seen isn't real or must be a deception itself. They are incapable of believing Planned Parenthood is in the wrong.
That's why it's important to keep your cool when debating people who support abortion. Most abortion supporters aren't dismissing your claims to purposefully lie or deceive. Their support of abortion rests on denying the reality of the unborn child, and they have been conditioned to accept claims from Planned Parenthood uncritically and doubt everything the profile movement says. Getting angry at them only drives them further away from your point.
That doesn't mean the prolife movement should abandon debunking pro-abortion claims. You can still sow seeds of doubt in abortion supporters, and sometimes they do see the truth when they are ready to emotionally accept it. So be patient, and continue keeping your arguments grounded in the facts and on point.
You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
*Right to Life Michigan
2) Depression or substance abuse.
3) Relationship issues or domestic violence.
4) Trouble deciding earlier in the pregnancy.
5) Young and without children.
These are reasons for many early abortions as well. Conspicuously absent is any mention of a child with a disability or health issues.
It's also a disingenuous argument. Planned Parenthood doesn't oppose a ban on late-term abortions because of health issues, they oppose them because they believe no unborn child has a right to life at any point in pregnancy. If such an exception were included in a late-term ban, Planned Parenthood would move on to a completely different and equally-deceptive argument to oppose it. Planned Parenthood knows that late-term abortion bans usually poll in the 60 percent range, and that even many self-identified pro-choice Democrats support such bans, so they have to skirt the issue.
Planned Parenthood gaslights the public, they gaslight the media, and they gaslight their own supporters. Gaslighting is a term for emotional/mental abuse that involves repeatedly lying and deceiving someone, with the goal of having them question their own perceptions and instead rely on the deceptive person for their view of reality.
Practically every common argument or talking point from the abortion industry involves deception of some kind: only 3 percent of Planned Parenthood's work involves abortions, "heavily edited" undercover videos involving fetal tissue trafficking, Planned Parenthood's fictitious mammogram machines, or the lie that launched the movement into the mainstream itself: back alley abortions. We could go on and on.
Why do Planned Parenthood and others do this? Because the second you acknowledge even a sliver of the truth or the humanity of the unborn child, the entire abortion house of cards comes tumbling down. Abortion rests on the idea that a child has zero moral worth before the moment of birth, or as former Sen. Barbara Boxer put it, a baby doesn't have value until you take her home from the hospital.
Just yesterday in discussing with someone the reasons women have abortions past 20 weeks, the person was unable to accept that the study discussed above from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute was legitimate. The person claimed the study was about abortion after 14 weeks, even though the title of the study is, "Who Seeks Abortions at or After 20 Weeks?". She was unable to accept the truth, and confabulated a reason to ignore the evidence.
That's why you can show someone a video of Planned Parenthood talking in their own words about selling the organs of aborted babies, and the person will likely find an excuse to assume what they've just seen isn't real or must be a deception itself. They are incapable of believing Planned Parenthood is in the wrong.
That's why it's important to keep your cool when debating people who support abortion. Most abortion supporters aren't dismissing your claims to purposefully lie or deceive. Their support of abortion rests on denying the reality of the unborn child, and they have been conditioned to accept claims from Planned Parenthood uncritically and doubt everything the profile movement says. Getting angry at them only drives them further away from your point.
That doesn't mean the prolife movement should abandon debunking pro-abortion claims. You can still sow seeds of doubt in abortion supporters, and sometimes they do see the truth when they are ready to emotionally accept it. So be patient, and continue keeping your arguments grounded in the facts and on point.
You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
*Right to Life Michigan
The 2017-2018 legislative session began on January 11, 2017. Legislation from the 2015-2016 session is no longer active. To see the legislation from last session, click here PROLIFE BILLS SUPPORTED BY RLM Abortion Provider Funding Ban SB 162 - Sen. Patrick Colbeck HB 4221 - Rep. Steve Johnson Choose Life License Plate SB 163 - Sen. Patrick Colbeck HB 4222 - Rep. Shane Hernandez Clinic Licensing Enforcement Act SB 164 - Sen. John Proos Heartbeat/Miscarriage Awareness Act HB 4467 - Rep. Lana Theis
Prenatally Diagnosed Conditions Act SB 367 - Sen. James Marleau
Citizens Accountability Act SB 376 & 377 - Sen. Rick Jones HB 4592 - Rep. John Reilly & HB 4593 - Rep. Bronna Kahle
Dismemberment Abortion Ban HB 4552 & 4553 - Rep. Laura Cox SB 391 & 392 - Sen. Tom Casperson
Prenatal Protection Sentencing Guideline HB 4500 - Rep. Pamela Hornberger
Stillborn Child Tax Equity HB 4522 - Rep. Mary Whiteford
Abortion Injury Statute of Limitations HB 4620 - Rep. Klint Kesto
Patient Protection Act S.B. 597 & 598 - Sen. John Proos
H.B. 5075 - Rep. Tristan Cole & H.B. 5076 – Rep. Jeff Noble
BILLS OPPOSED BY RLM
Repeal of the 24 hour waiting period
HB 4760 - Rep. Pam Faris
SB 452 - Sen. Rebekah Warren
Repeal of the abortion insurance opt-out
HB 4761 - Rep. Christine Greig
SB 454 - Sen. Curtis Hertel
Abortion requirement for hospitals
HB 4765 - Rep. Leslie Love
SB 453 - Sen. Rebekah Warren
Whole Women's Health Act
HB 4763 - Rep. Kristy Pagen
SB 451 - Sen. Rebekah Warren
The Unrestrained Physicians Act
HB 4762 - Rep. Vanessa Guerra
Contraceptive Mandate
SB 458 - Sen. David Knezek
Physician Assisted Suicide
HB 4461 - Rep.Tom Cochrane & HB 4462 - Rep. Kevin Hertel
Repeal of the 24 hour waiting period
HB 4760 - Rep. Pam Faris
SB 452 - Sen. Rebekah Warren
Repeal of the abortion insurance opt-out
HB 4761 - Rep. Christine Greig
SB 454 - Sen. Curtis Hertel
Abortion requirement for hospitals
HB 4765 - Rep. Leslie Love
SB 453 - Sen. Rebekah Warren
Whole Women's Health Act
HB 4763 - Rep. Kristy Pagen
SB 451 - Sen. Rebekah Warren
The Unrestrained Physicians Act
HB 4762 - Rep. Vanessa Guerra
Contraceptive Mandate
SB 458 - Sen. David Knezek
Physician Assisted Suicide
HB 4461 - Rep.Tom Cochrane & HB 4462 - Rep. Kevin Hertel
No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 238-183 on January 24, 2017, for H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, to make the Hyde Amendment permanent. The Hyde Amendment is annual legislation attached to the budget which prevents your tax dollars from paying directly for most abortions. The legislation now goes to the U.S. Senate for consideration, where it may have a filibuster from the pro-abortion minority of senators.
ACTION NEEDED: Contact Senator Debbie Stabenow and Senator Gary Peters and tell them: "Please support S. 184, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. A majority of Americans oppose our tax dollars being used to pay for abortions."
ACTION NEEDED: Contact Senator Debbie Stabenow and Senator Gary Peters and tell them: "Please support S. 184, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. A majority of Americans oppose our tax dollars being used to pay for abortions."
Stop dismemberment abortions
Protecting unborn children from the brutality of dismemberment abortions is a legislative priority for Michigan. A law is needed because D&E dismemberment abortions are as brutal as the partial-birth abortion method, which is now illegal in Michigan and the United States. Legislation has been introduced in the Michigan House adding D&E dismemberment abortions to our state's ban on partial-birth abortion. Learn more about dismemberment abortions.
ACTION NEEDED: Circulate the Petition to End Dismemberment Abortions. The petition can be found here.
ACTION NEEDED: Circulate the Petition to End Dismemberment Abortions. The petition can be found here.
Records on Life
Learn more about the views on abortion and other prolife issues of our important representatives.
SEN. PETERS' RECORD ON LIFE
SEN. STABENOW'S RECORD ON LIFE
SEN. PETERS' RECORD ON LIFE
SEN. STABENOW'S RECORD ON LIFE