Senate panel votes to secure the reversal of Mexico City Policy

On July 9, 2009, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 17-11 to make it a law that international organizations who advocate for abortion overseas can receive international family planning funds. In the past, the Mexico City Policy prevented international family planning funds from going to organizations who provide and promote abortion in other countries. This policy was first enacted under President Reagan, reversed while President Clinton was in office, re-enacted under President Bush and then reversed again by President Obama a few days after taking office.

The House has already passed a version of this bill which doesn’t include this amendment. If a conference committee keeps the changes made in the Senate version of the bill, the next president wouldn’t be able to restore the Mexico City policy without the approval of Congress.

NIH releases final guidelines on human embryonic stem cell research

On July 6, 2009, the web site of the National Institutes of Health posted the final "National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research." These guidelines allow federal tax dollars to support research on human embryonic stem cell lines obtained from human embryos at in-vitro fertilization clinics.

The guidelines fail to require IVF clinics to inform couples considering donating their embryonic children to research about the possibility of embryo adoption if the clinic doesn’t offer any embryo adoption services. This means numerous couples with frozen embryos will never be fully informed about their options.

These guidelines follow President Barack Obama's March 9 executive order overturning President Bush’s limits on using federal tax dollars to fund research on new embryonic stem cell lines. Human embryonic stem cell research has not helped treat one human being and necessitates the killing of human embryos.

While President Obama and some researchers are focused on killing human embryos, others are working hard to find ways to avoid the ethical dilemma of killing human embryos for their stem cells. To date, more than 70 treatments from adult and umbilical cord blood stem cells have been used to help patients.

READ THE GUIDELINES

Michigan Abortionist Fined $10,000 after a Woman Dies in his Clinic

Alberto Hodari, an abortionist who owns various abortion clinics in Michigan has been fined $10,000 after the Disciplinary Subcommittee of the Board of Medicine found that he was negligent after the death of Regina Johnson.

Regina Johnson died of anoxic encephalopathy due to cardiac arrest in September of 2003 after receiving an abortion at one of Hodari’s abortion clinics. In August of 2007, Attorney General Michael Cox filed an administrative complaint against Hodari charging that he was negligent, incompetent and lacked a good moral character. It was recently discovered Hodari resolved this complaint order in March of 2009 by pleading no contest to the charge of negligence and agreed to pay a $10,000 fine to the state of Michigan.

Alberto Hodari has previously been in the news after the bodies of aborted children were found in the dumpster of one of his clinics in the spring of 2008 and after the death of Tamia Russell, a teenager who died in 2004 after Hodari performed a late-term abortion on her without her parent’s knowledge or consent.

The Link Between Abortion and Premature Births

In the Lansing State Journal, Mollie Schweppe provides an explanation for why the number of premature/low weight births continues to rise despite the fact that pregnant women in the Lansing area are smoking less and receiving more prenatal care.

There is another factor contributing to low birth weight and premature births in these and all counties in Michigan - previous abortions. The abortion/premature birth link is the hidden reason why Michigan just can't seem to reduce incidences of low birth weight and premature birth.

A major European study released just this week in Amsterdam confirms that one previous abortion increases by 20 percent the risk of a future premature birth, with premature birth defined as birth at less than 37 weeks gestation. More than one prior abortion? The risk increases by 90 percent! In addition, more than one prior abortion doubles the likelihood of a premature birth at 34 weeks gestation or less. At that stage of prematurity, the child is much more likely to suffer from cerebral palsy, mental retardation, epilepsy or autism.

She then relates what this study means for women in Michigan.

Yet here in Michigan, when smoking goes down, teen pregnancy goes down, the number of women without prenatal care goes down, and premature births still go up, we all shake our heads, bewildered. Let's clear up the confusion: The culprit is abortion. Michigan residents had 24,006 abortions in 2007. For 52 percent of the women, it was their first abortion. Their risk of having a premature baby in the future has increased by 20 percent to 35 percent, depending on how premature birth is defined. For 48 percent of those women, it was their second abortion, or more. Their risk of having a premature baby has doubled. It's high time we face the fact that abortion does carry significant, long-term health consequences - and financial consequences.

RLM Vice-President Explains Embryo Research Legislation

The Traverse City Record-Eagle has printed an editorial by Right to Life of Michigan Vice-President Joseph Kincaid in which he discusses the recently introduced Embryo Research and Fertility Clinic Transparency Act.

Kincaid writes,

As a result of the passage of Proposal 2 last November, human embryos stored in fertility clinics now qualify as research material and are up for grabs to research laboratories. Most human embryos remain protected from research, with the exception of those produced in "excess" of their parents' childbearing desires and can be designated for stem cell research.

While the election concerning the "leftover embryo" is over, many questions remain. Who decides which university or private research entity will be awarded the highly sought-after embryos? How many are there? What happens when the supply is depleted? Will additional "research subjects," whether human or human-animal hybrid, be manufactured to satisfy the demand? If steps are taken outside the provisions of Proposal 2, what are the penalties?

.....

Transparency and accountability are a must when it comes to this emerging scientific field. The purpose of this legislation is not to impose government regulation but to add transparency. For the first time in Michigan history, a population of human beings will be classified as "research material" and destroyed for their parts.

Without setting these policies in place, we face just the beginning of a field wide open to trafficking human clones into the state, mixing interspecies DNA through creating human-animal hybrids and other potential unspeakable acts of human experimentation.

Detroit News reporter Kim Kozlowski get embryo research facts wrong

In her article on the Embryo Research & Fertility Clinic Transparency Act, Detroit News reporter got a couple of basic facts wrong.

She claims the act is “a six-bill package introduced by Republican lawmakers” when two of the lead sponsors of the six-bill package are Democratic senators.

She also claims that Proposal 2 “allow(ed) research into potential therapies and possible cures” and “lift(ed) restrictions on stem cell research.” Proposal 2 did neither. Embryonic stem cell research had been taking place in Michigan since 2002. Proposal 2 allowed researchers in Michigan to experiment on and kill human embryos who were created for the purpose of fertility treatments.

Human Embryo Research Transparency Requested

In Michigan, the passage of Proposal 2 by a narrow margin in 2008 left many questions regarding human embryonic stem cell research in its wake.

To answer those questions, Democratic and Republican lawmakers have come together to introduce the Embryo Research and Fertility Clinic Transparency Act. The Embryo Research Transparency Act consists of several bills that would codify the wording of Proposal 2 into Michigan law. The package will fulfill the promise of its supporters that no human embryos will be created specifically for destructive research or be bought or sold for monetary value. The legislation would ban the creation of human-animal hybrids and amend the current ban on creating cloned human embryos to prevent trafficking of cloned humans into Michigan. The legislation would also require researchers and fertility clinics to file an annual report to ensure transparency, as well as require informed consent for parents before donating the human embryos.

This package consists of several bills that would codify the wording of Proposal 2 into Michigan law. The bills will not reverse any portion of Proposal 2. The purpose of this legislation is not to impose government regulation, but to add transparency. There are currently no federal or Michigan laws that govern the research and no procedures in place for enforcing violations of Proposal 2. For the first time in Michigan history, a population of human beings will be classified as “research material” and destroyed for their parts. Without setting reasonable policies in place, we face a wide-open field with great potential for abuse.

Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said, "While we disagree with a form of research that destroys human life, if such research is to be conducted, strict guidelines and protection against further abuse are necessary. Supporters of Proposal 2 said that there would be careful oversight of research to prevent any abuses, we intend to make sure their promises are kept in Michigan law."

LEARN MORE and TAKE ACTION

Lansing State Journal features story on adult stem cell success

On June 12, the Lansing State Journal featured a story on how adult stem cells from the bone marrow of a man from Texas were used to successfully treat a Michigan man suffering from leukemia. Donor Ronnie Kirby and recipient Andy Case have become friends and recently attended an event at Michigan State University to encourage individuals to sign up for the bone marrow registry.

Dr. Kenneth Schwartz, an oncologist and hematologist at the MSU College of Human Medicine who treated Case, said it is important to expand the donor pool, especially among minorities who are under-represented among potential donors.

Currently, seven of 10 people needing a transplant must rely on an unrelated donor for a suitable match, according to the Bone Marrow Foundation. Until about a decade or so ago, surgeons mostly extracted the marrow from a donor's hip while the patient was under anesthesia. Now, in most cases, doctors extract stem cells in a relatively noninvasive process and use the cells to cultivate the marrow.

To learn more about stem cell research, visit Right to Life of Michigan's stem cell web site, www.stemcellresearchcures.com.

Making Sure Health Reform Doesn’t Mean More Abortions

As Congress plans to work on health care reform legislation, Right to Life of Michigan will be working with the National Right to Life Committee to monitor proposed health care reform bills to insure that abortion isn’t part of health care reform. There is some concern among prolife groups in Washington, D.C., that abortion advocates may try to use health care reform legislation as a stealth way of forcing health insurance companies to cover abortion. Right to Life of Michigan is committed to making sure abortion does not become part of mainstream health care reform.

From campaign statements, Right to Life of Michigan knows President Obama views “reproductive health care” as an “essential service” and wants it to be included in his public health care plan. Right to Life of Michigan also knows that the Obama administration believes that “reproductive health includes access to abortion” because that’s what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently told the United States House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Right to Life of Michigan will be using its web site (www.rtl.org) and e-mail lists to let members and supporters know when health care reform legislation is introduced.

Letter to the Grand Rapids Press regarding an AP article on George Tiller's Murder

The following letter was submitted to the Grand Rapids Press:

An Associated Press article featured in the June 1, 2009, edition of the Grand Rapids Press entitled, "Abortion provider's slaying denounced, praised" failed to provide an example of who "praised" the killing of abortionist George Tiller. Mainstream prolife groups across the country have condemned this murder.

Thankfully, the article did note that prolife groups have denounced this tragic act of violence. Right to Life of Michigan is saddened by the unjustified killing of any human being, including George Tiller. Killing abortion providers is not a prolife act. True prolife organizations recognize that the life of every human being is precious and worthy of legal protection.

The article also falsely claimed that Tiller's abortion clinic was one of only three abortion clinics in the nation where abortions are performed past 21 weeks. This is obviously false as there are at least 4 abortion clinics in Michigan, including the main abortion clinic in Grand Rapids, which advertise that they perform abortions after 21 weeks. According to the Michigan Department of Community Health, there were 132 abortions performed in Michigan in 2007 which were past the 20th week of gestation.

Tell Congress: "Abortion is not health care!"

As Congress works to pass a comprehensive health care reform bill by July 31, we need to make sure that health care reform legislation doesn’t make abortion a mainstream health care service. Abortion is not health care. It is a procedure which intentionally takes the life of an innocent human being.

Sign On-Line Petition

Print Paper Petition to Circulate

We are saddened by the killing of Dr. George Tiller

While the circumstances surrounding the killing of Dr. George Tiller are still under investigation, violence against another human being saddens Right to Life of Michigan. Dr. Tiller was known for performing late-term abortions in Kansas. To counter violence with violence is against the principles of Right to Life of Michigan. True respect and dignity for human life dictates a right to life for all people regardless of whether they share our prolife views.

Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said, “We have always opposed, and will continue to oppose, actions that are contrary to the law. What has been proven by science is the truth that human life begins at conception. Each human life is deserving of our respect. We prove our prolife position by lawfully helping women who are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and by extending our help to women who are suffering from a past abortion, not by killing abortion providers.”

Right to Life of Michigan has worked diligently through education and legislation to bring abortion to an end in Michigan. Listing said, “Abortion never needs to be the only choice offered to women in need. Right to Life of Michigan is working throughout the state to ensure that women know people are willing to support and assist those who are struggling with an untimely or crisis pregnancy.”

Majority of Americans consider themselves “pro-life”

A new poll released by Gallup has found that 51% of Americans consider themselves “pro-life.” The same poll found only 42% of Americans consider themselves “pro-choice.”

In the last year, the number of people calling themselves “pro-life” has risen 7% while the number of people calling themselves “pro-choice” has dropped 8%.

The poll also found that 60% of Americans believe abortion should either be “illegal in all circumstances” (23%) or “legal only in a few circumstances” (37%).

Men and women were both more likely to be “pro-life” than “pro-choice.” According to the poll, 49% of women and 54% of men consider themselves “prolife” while only 44% of women and 39% of men consider themselves “pro-choice.”

Notre Dame Students to Protest Obama's Visit

Prolife students at Notre Dame have received official permission to hold a prayerful and constructive demonstration on the South Quad of the University of Notre Dame between 11a.m. and 4 p.m. on the day of Commencement. The students of this coalition would like to extend an invitation to all those interested in joining them on campus on May 17 as they respectfully give witness to Notre Dame's Catholic identity and prolife principles.

More information about President Obama's visit to Notre Dame can be found here.

Right to Life of Holland Area finds alternative way to spread the prolife message

For 25 years, Right to Life of Holland Area used a prolife float to share the prolife message during the city of Holland’s annual Tulip Time parades. This year their application for entry was denied but they’ve continued in their efforts to affirm the right to life at Tulip Time with the “Red Rose Campaign.”

The following is a statement from Right to Life of Holland Area:

Right to Life of Holland Area is deeply grateful and encouraged by the outcry and support from the community.

As you are aware the original application for our float to be in the Wednesday and Saturday Tulip Time parades was denied. We consequently offered to enter our float under the name of Right to Life of Michigan Education Fund which has a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status because it is solely educational. We also suggested that any float that had a long record of participation could be grandfathered in and new entries would be held to the revised guideline.

On April 9, we were notified that the Tulip Time board had “affirmed its recent decision and will be taking no further action.” Regretfully, Right to Life of Holland Area has accepted their decision.

Consequently, the time has come to put controversy behind us and focus on ways to spread life-affirming messages. Right to Life of Holland Area chooses not to promote boycotts of Tulip Time activities. We choose to continue our 25-year history of being a positive part of Tulip Time.

We are pleased to announce that our float will be on display during Tulip Time at 1 Graves Place in Holland, just east of Centennial Park. We are also pleased to announce the “Red Rose Campaign.”

The red rose has long been the symbol of life. We have designed a special T-shirt with a red rose and the words “Life a Precious Gift,” which we encourage our supporters to wear during Tulip Time festivities. More details will be made available soon.

We have also been contacted by many parade participants asking how they can show their support for life. We suggest that they wear an arm band of a one-inch red ribbon on their left arm.

Our hope and prayer is that those who have phoned with words of encouragement, written letters to the editor, signed the online petition, made helpful suggestions, etc., will join us by participating in our “Red Rose Campaign” at the Tulip Time festival.

Providing and Promoting Abortion: What you should know about Planned Parenthood

The updated text of the flier Providing and Promoting Abortion: What you should know about Planned Parenthood has been posted on Right to Life of Michigan's web site. This flier discusses Planned Parenthood's real plan, how they are a "profitable" non-profit and the money they spend on lobbying.

More than 300,000 abortions performed at Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood’s 2007-2008 Annual Report again shows how America’s leading abortion provider continues to increase its share of the abortion market. The number of abortions performed at Planned Parenthood facilities rose more than 5% to 305,310 abortions in 2007 from the previous record high of 289,750 abortions in 2006. Approximately, 1 in 4 abortions performed in the United States are now performed at Planned Parenthood facilities. The number of abortions performed at Planned Parenthood continue to increase despite the national decrease in the number of abortions in recent years.

While the number of abortions performed at Planned Parenthood grew, the number of prenatal clients decreased to 10,914. Planned Parenthood now commits approximately 28 abortions for every pregnant prenatal client it sees and commits 62 abortions for every adoption referral. Abortion is clearly the number #1 choice for Planned Parenthood.

Increasing their annual total of abortions also didn’t hurt Planned Parenthood’s checkbook. Their annual revenues were again above the $1 billion dollar mark and their profits (revenue over expenses) totaled a staggering $85 million. Planned Parenthood’s net assets totaled more than $1 billion dollars.

Embryonic stem cell researcher Eva Feldman is still misleading people regarding Michigan’s laws

Laura Berman’s March 26, 2009, column in the Detroit News profiles Eva Feldman, an embryonic stem cell researcher who recently returned to Michigan. Even after the passage of Proposal 2, which legalized unregulated and unrestricted research on living human embryos, advocates of killing human embryos for research like Feldman still can’t honestly describe Michigan’s law which formerly prevented non-therapeutic research on human embryos.

"It's frustrating when people say that this research hasn't produced a cure when, until now, I haven't been able to do one experiment in my own Michigan laboratory," says Feldman.

The only experiments Feldman was restricted from doing in Michigan prior to the passage of Proposal 2 were killing human embryos for research and attempting to create cloned human embryos. Since the passage of Proposal 2, she is now allowed to kill human embryos for research. She was in no way prevented from doing experiments on embryonic stem cells.

In-utero surgery saves Michigan baby

The front page of the March 15, 2009, edition of the Grand Rapids Press featured a story on tiny yet history-making Mira Larrison. Mira Larrison is an infant whose heart was operated on while she was still in the womb.

With Mira still in her mother's womb and weighing about 2 1/2 pounds, her heart not much larger than a grape, Armstrong and other doctors at U-M's Mott Children's Hospital operated, opening a hole between the left and right sides of her heart.

When Mira went home a few weeks ago, she became a medical pioneer -- the first infant to undergo such a delicate prenatal operation in Michigan and survive long enough to leave the hospital.

Mira needs a couple more surgeries to repair her heart but if she makes it through those surgeries doctors believe she will have an “excellent prognosis.”

When Mira’s parents were told of the various problems with Mira, they were “offered three options: have an abortion, allow the baby to be born and die or undergo in-utero surgery.”

We’re glad they choose life for Mira.

University of Michigan set to kill 400 human embryos

With the passage of Proposal 2, it is now legal to experiment on and kill human embryos in Michigan. The Detroit Free Press ran an article on March 9, 2009, which describes the University of Michigan’s plans to kill about 400 human embryos to create embryonic stem cell lines.

The press release announcing the new A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies also notes that they are planning on creating induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines.

In addition to deriving new embryonic stem cell lines, researchers will use recently developed techniques to convert adult skin cells into induced pluripotent stem cells, known as iPS cells. These reprogrammed cells display the most scientifically valuable properties of embryonic stem cells, while enabling researchers to bypass embryos altogether.

So if iPS cells have the same properties as embryonic stem cells and don’t require the destruction of human embryos why are University of Michigan researchers so giddy about killing human embryos?

President Obama's assault on life continues

Expanding the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research
On March 9, President Barack Obama announced and signed an order to overturn President Bush's limits on the funding of embryonic stem cell lines. President Bush had previously limited federal spending on embryonic stem cell research to embryonic stem cell lines created before August of 2001. In his orders, President Obama will give the National Institutes of Health time to develop guidelines to decide which kinds of research they will fund and what restrictions there will be. It is likely that, at bare minimum, the NIH will fund research on embryonic stem cell lines created from human embryos who were originally created for in-vitro fertilization. Some scientists desire that embryonic stem cell lines created from human embryos who were created for research also receive funding.

During his announcement, President Obama took no position on the Dickey Amendment. This amendment has prevented federal funds from going toward research into the creation of human embryos and the killing of human embryos since 1996. Some members of Congress have talked openly about attempting to repeal this amendment by removing it from appropriations bills.

President Obama also said that "human cloning for reproduction" is "dangerous, profoundly wrong and has no place in our society, or any society." What President Obama didn't mention was that he signed on as a co-sponsor to S.B. 1520, the euphemistically entitled "Human Cloning Ban Act of 2005" which would have kept human cloning legal and only banned the implantation of human clones by deceptively defining "human cloning" as "implanting or attempting to implant the product of nuclear transplantation into a uterus or the functional equivalent of a uterus." Products of nuclear transplantation is a scientific term for clones.

To send comments to President Obama, please use the form at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Call the comments line: 202-456-1111

Or, write to:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500


Junking conscience protections
On March 6, President Obama's administration moved to completely rescind a rule entitled, "Ensuring That Department of Health and Human Services Funds Do Not Support Coercive or Discriminatory Policies or Practices in Violation of Federal Law." This rule was designed at the end of the Bush administration to protect the consciences of physicians and health care workers.The rule was put in place after prolife health care workers raised concerns about their conscience protections. The ethics committee of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists had issued a paper in which they called on doctors who are opposed to abortion to refer women to abortion providers, claiming that conscience protections shouldn't prevent prolife physicians from referring women to abortion providers.

Federal law has prevented discrimination against health care personnel who refuse to perform or assist in abortions but the Bush administration policy required institutions which receive federal money to certify their compliance with the laws protecting the conscience rights of health care personnel and was intended to prevent federal funds from going to hospitals and other institutions who ignore those rights.

After the publication of the document, the Federal Register will allow 30 days for citizens to comment on the proposal before making a formal decision. Comments may be submitted either electronically or by regular mail.

The proposal to rescind the rule is available online at:
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocumentDetail&o=090000648090229f

1. Electronically. You may submit electronic comments via email to
proposedrescission@hhs.gov or by visiting the link above and clicking the add comments button.


2. By regular mail. You may mail written comments (one original and two copies) to the following address only: Office of Public Health and Science, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: Rescission Proposal Comments, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 716G, Washington, DC 20201

To learn more about President Obama’s assaults on human life, visit Right to Life of Michigan at www.rtl.org and check out the Prolife Action Center.

No, conscience cannot be your guide

The White House quietly announced on Friday, February 27, that President Barack Obama is starting the process of overturning protections President George W. Bush put in place to make sure medical staff and centers are not forced to do abortions. This again reveals President Obama's strong pro-abortion positions.

It is easy to send a short email message to the White House expressing your disagreement with President Obama's position. Go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/. In addition, letters to the editor of Michigan newspapers are a great way to inform the public, many wrongly believe this president is actually prolife.

Right to Life of Michigan supports the right of health care professionals and organizations who have conscientious objections to reject participation in or cooperation with the delivery and marketing of abortion. Every person should be allowed to use their conscience as a guide. Curiously, President Obama has said repeatedly he hopes those on both sides of the issue will work to reduce the number of abortions by preventing unwanted pregnancies and by offering support to women who do get pregnant and want to continue their pregnancies. Forcing medical professionals to be entangled in the business of abortion does not work toward that end.

The Office of Management and Budget announced it will be reviewing a proposal to rescind the conscience regulation. After the conscience regulation is reviewed it will be published in the Federal Register for a 30-day public comment period.

Halt the Assault on Human Life

Until the next mid-term elections in 2010, pro-abortion forces in Congress will have the opportunity to remove many prolife laws and create new ones assaulting the sanctity of human life. Prolife people need to come together to halt the assault on human life.


Issues to Watch

Stop the Assault on the Hyde Amendment
One of the most important prolife policies is the Hyde Amendment which prohibits the use of federal Medicaid funds for abortions (except to save the life of the mother, or in cases of rape or incest). The Hyde Amendment has been incorporated into the annual appropriations bills for the Department of Health and Human Services since 1976. President Obama opposes the Hyde Amendment and the Democratic Congressional leadership could seek to block renewal of the amendment in 2009.

Stop the Freedom of Choice Act
The “Freedom of Choice Act” (FOCA) is a proposed federal law that would nullify virtually every state and federal prolife law and policy, including parental notification laws and partial-birth abortion bans. In addition, FOCA prohibits policies at any level of government that would “discriminate” against abortion, meaning abortion would have to be provided and funded in any government health program that provides services to pregnant women (e.g., Medicaid, SCHIP).

Stop Research Using Human Embryos
It is expected that President Obama will use his executive authority to remove President Bush’s restrictions on the use of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research. It is also likely that Congress will consider legislation to remove the Dickey Amendment. The Dickey Amendment prevents the federal funding of research where human embryos are killed and where human embryos are created for the purpose of research.

Stop National Health Care which Includes Rationing, Abortion
Right to Life of Michigan is equally concerned with protecting the elderly and people with disabilities from euthanasia as with protecting the unborn from abortion. Denial of lifesaving medical treatment is a form of involuntary euthanasia. Right to Life of Michigan, therefore, opposes government rationing of health care.

Action Item

Despite a pro-abortion majority in Congress, you can still halt this radical assault on the sanctity of human life by informing your fellow citizens and encouraging them to make their voices heard.

For more information about prolife issues, visit Right to Life of Michigan online at www.rtl.org and check out the Action Center. You will find important information about current prolife issues and educational materials like LifeNotes on prolife topics that you may print and distribute. Together prolife people can halt the assault on human life.

Michigan Abortion Clinic Given Probation

An abortion clinic operated by Alberto Hodari, an abortionist based in Michigan, has been given 6 months probation after medical records were found in the abortion clinic’s dumpster. The clinic pleaded no contest to a charge of improperly disposing of medical records.

Alberto Hodari and his abortion clinics have a long history of endangering women with substandard care including the deaths of at least two women, Tamia Russell and Chivon Williams.

Below is a YouTube video by the Catholic News Agency which shows some of what was found in Hodari's abortion clinic dumpster and provides more information on Hodari. Some of the material includes images of the remains of aborted children.

Tax $$ Given to International Abortion Providers

Michigan Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow had an opportunity to keep our tax dollars from going to organizations who perform or promote abortions in foreign countries, but both chose instead to fund abortion providers in the name of "population assistance."

On January 28, Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) offered an amendment that would have restored restrictions, known as the Mexico City Policy, on taxpayer funding for groups providing or promoting abortions overseas. Because of the votes of Sen. Levin, Sen. Stabenow and other like-minded U.S. senators the amendment failed.

Roll Call Vote
More on Mexico City Policy