#1 reason to defund Planned Parenthood: they lie

Planned Parenthood carefully crafts a public image of doing everything they can to help low-income women with health problems. This public image is created through deception and even outright lies.

Mammosham: No, Planned Parenthood doesn't provide mammograms

You can listen to Planned Parenthood's president tell people that they provide mammograms, and then listen to her admit to Congress that Planned Parenthood provides zero mammograms (and lie to them as well), all in one handy video. While many other health centers offer mammograms as a service, Planned Parenthood offers manual breast exams instead, and in the last 10 years their tax funding has doubled while their breast exams have been cut by 61 percent, according to their own annual reports.

Only 3 percent of Planned Parenthood's services are abortion?

If that were true, why wouldn't Planned Parenthood drop abortion services and focus on the other uncontroversial things they claim are the most important to them? Because they deceive people on how they count "services." If a woman comes to Planned Parenthood to have an abortion, the pregnancy test beforehand and the contraception they give her when leaving all count as services. She came for an abortion, but she was given three "services." Would an oil change shop claim their main services are filling tires and replacing air filters? Here's a short video that breaks this all down.

According to their most recent annual report, if you divide the number of clients they serve (2.5 million) by the number of abortions they do (323,999), 13 percent of their services include abortion. That's a large amount of abortions. Planned Parenthood performs more abortions in a year than the number of women who die every year of cancer in America (about 270,000).

What what will women do if Planned Parenthood is defunded?

Defunding Planned Parenthood doesn't actually cut any federal funding for health services, it just means centers that offer more comprehensive services that don't include abortions will be instead getting the money. Planned Parenthood does not offer emergency health services, and women will still have thousands of alternatives that provide more services:

Life Uninvited returns to TV

Last year in January we debuted Life Uninvited, a 30-minute documentary that addresses the controversial issue of rape and abortion. Each of the four women featured in it shares a different personal experience. The stories include being conceived in rape, rape and incest survivors, abortion, and parenting a child conceived in rape.

Because of the nature of their stories and out of respect for their wishes, Life Uninvited is not online anywhere. It's not a DVD we can sell or rent out. Thankfully we're able to air it again on TV statewide this weekend, as well as Jan. 14-15 and Jan. 22. Here's the channels and times for this weekend's showings:

The film is the culmination of our Compassion Project ads in 2015. Far too often the issue of rape and abortion is addressed as a political debate. Very rarely do people actually hear stories from people who were conceived in rape or rape survivors who gave birth and kept their children.

Extremely few people even realize that only half of women pregnant through rape actually have abortions. RAINN estimates that there are between 7,750 to 12,500 children conceived in rape every year in America, only half of whom are aborted. When you add the numbers up over the decades, the simple odds are that you know one of these hundreds of thousands of people living with us today, indistinguishable from anyone else.

Unless you are a veteran prolifer, however, you probably have never heard about the issue of rape and abortion from that perspective. As Shauna points out in Life Uninvited, there is a stigma associated to being conceived in rape. When society talks about you as a "rapist's child," lesser than, perhaps you fear confiding in others your history and sharing your unique perspective.

Be sure to tune in and share the program details with others, inviting them to watch Life Uninvited with an open mind.

Thank you for supporting life!

Because of your generous donations, we were able to reach our $50,000 year-end online fundraising goal! As a double bonus, that $50,000 was matched through generous support.

The money donated will be going to the Right to life of Michigan Educational Fund to help further educate people on the tragedy of abortion and other prolife issues. There are countless educational resources and materials available to you—for free—because of your generous gifts. Examples include daily social media activity, our resource centers across the state, educational flyers and directing people online to pregnancy help resources. These are just some of the activities that we will be able to continue this year.

Here's to making 2017 another year full of opportunities to protect life!

Last chance to double your donation!

It's lunchtime on Thursday and there's just 60 hours left in 2016.

To hit our goal of $50,000 in year-end online donations to the Right to Life of Michigan Educational Fund, we need to receive $250 every hour from now until the ball drops on New Year's Eve.

Can you cover this hour with a donation of $250? Your gift of any amount is tax deductible and will be matched through generous support.

Help us make sure we don't leave a single dollar of the $50,000 match on the table!

DONATE NOW

Michigan closes loophole for fetal organ trafficking

Today Michigan Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley signed into law the Fetal Organ Trafficking Ban. Right to Life of Michigan applauds Lt. Gov. Calley and the Michigan Legislature for taking action to prevent abortion clinics profiteering from the sale of babies' body parts.

Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said, "The undercover videos showing Planned Parenthood haggling over the broken bodies of developed babies rightly disgusted our nation. Trafficking in human body parts has no place in the state of Michigan."

Federal and Michigan law bans tissue trafficking, but a loophole allows tissue traffickers to compensate abortion clinics. Vague language together with federal officials friendly to abortion meant that abortion clinics could successfully evade the law.

The Center for Medical Progress first began releasing their undercover footage in July of 2015. Throughout the process Planned Parenthood has denied all accusations, despite incriminating statements caught on video. Their staff repeatedly engaged in sales discussions, discussed ways to disguise the profiteering, and indicated a willingness to change abortion procedures to procure fresher organs.

Michigan's new ban is comprised of two bills. S.B. 564 prohibits the exchange of any form of compensation for fetal tissue or organs. S.B. 565 describes the legal penalties for engaging in the trade of fetal tissue or organs. The bills received bi-partisan support, including some legislators in the Michigan House who generally support abortion.

Listing said, "We welcome the opportunity to work with anyone who can agree with us on a particular issue. Most people broadly agree that buying and selling human body parts is beyond the pale."

Michigan's new ban will still allow organ and tissue donations to proceed, but no longer can abortion businesses abuse the spirit of the law by profiting from such donations.

Listing said, "For years Planned Parenthood successfully kept their organ trafficking behind closed doors, but now it's coming to an end thanks to the public hearing them talk about it in their own words."

The Fetal Organ Trafficking Ban ends another successful prolife legislative session in Michigan. Earlier in 2016 the Rape Survivor Child Custody Act and the Coercive Abortion Prevention Act were also signed into law. No pro-abortion legislation received any serious consideration in the Legislature in 2015-2016.

Listing said, "In January we're looking forward to starting another successful legislative session for advancing the protection of all human life."

Recapping prolife legislative victories in 2016

The 2015-2016 legislative session in Lansing saw several important policy successes for the prolife cause. Other legislation made partial progress, hopefully setting the stage for action in the 2017-2018 session. Here's a recap of these victories.

State Family Planning Funds to Planned Parenthood Ended!
The annual state health department budgets adopted in 2015 and 2016 included language prohibiting state family planning funds from going to abortion-providing organizations, including Planned Parenthood (PP). This is only a first step, because PP is still able to receive federal family planning dollars through Medicaid. PP can provide non-abortion services to Medicaid-eligible patients and be reimbursed directly by Medicaid. Based on their own annual reports this frees up money in their budget to increase abortions while their non-abortion services actually decrease.

The impending battle over PP federal funding with the election of Donald Trump will be the golden opportunity to end PP’s access to millions of your taxpayer dollars here in Michigan. Meanwhile, we will continue to press for a law to make the state funding ban permanent rather than a year-to-year budget rider.

Coercing Abortion Now a State Crime!
When Michigan enacted the Prolife Omnibus law in 2012, it added provisions to screen women seeking abortions for signs of coercion. That screening was dependent on passage of a second law defining coercion as a crime. Unfortunately, the effort to pass the criminal bill was stymied for more than 3 years. The wait came to an end in June when House Bills 4787 and 4830 were signed by Gov. Snyder.

We are working with state regulators to implement the screening protocol and make sure that a sign is posted in every abortion clinic warning that coercion to abort is a crime. Sidewalk counselors and prolife pregnancy centers can now use this law to empower women being coerced into abortion to push back against this assault on them and their unborn babies.

Fetal Organ & Tissue Selling Banned in Michigan! 
In July of 2015 the country was shocked and sickened by undercover videos released by the Center for Medical Progress showing Planned Parenthood personnel haggling over the “fees” they would collect for harvesting organs from aborted babies. State Sen. Phil Pavlov sprang into action and after working through the process his legislation was approved during the lame duck session. The Fetal Organ Trafficking Ban will be signed into law this week.

The new law couldn’t be anymore simple or straightforward: no more money, perks or benefits of any kind (especially not a Lamborghini) can go to abortion providers for selling fetal tissue in Michigan!

Rape Survivor Child Custody Law & Domestic Violence Funding Secured 
We took up the cause of protecting the courageous women who give birth to children conceived by rape by giving them the ability to pre-empt the rapist from seeking custody and parenting rights. Michigan prolifers became familiar with this issue through the advocacy of Shauna Prewitt, a Chicago attorney who experienced such a nightmare.

In addition to getting states to pass laws similar to Michigan's, Shauna took the fight to Washington, D.C. and got Congress to pass a funding provision to encourage states to pass this law. HB 4481 (sponsored by State Rep. Lisa Lyons) was passed in April 2016. A second state bill had to be passed to qualify Michigan for hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding to help sexual assault victims and make them aware of their rights. We spearheaded the passage of SB 858 (sponsored by State Sen. Rick Jones) in only 9 days during May 2016.

The Michigan Domestic Violence Prevention & Treatment Board wrote a special letter of thanks to us: “Your advocacy was key in establishing our eligibility for an additional $236,452 in federal grant funding for the next 2 years…”

Other Important Legislative Actions
Bills to outlaw dismemberment abortions were introduced in Lansing for the first time in 2015. House Bills 4833-4834 (sponsored by State Rep. Laura Cox) were reported from the House Criminal Justice Committee to the House floor, but did not advance. Other laws addressing late-term abortions have already passed in a few other states, but in many cases have been challenged in court and suspended. It remains an open question as to whether Michigan and other states can help create momentum for a precedent-setting Supreme Court case by passing dismemberment bans.

A bill to create a Choose Life specialty fundraising plate (sponsored by State Sen. Patrick Colbeck) passed the Michigan Senate in 2015. It stalled, however, in the Michigan House as another bill affecting all fundraising license plates took center stage, HB 5447. That law was designed to put a hard cap on the number of allowed specialty plates. Initially that cap would have precluded a Choose Life plate from being passed for many years to come, perhaps never. RLM intervened before the bill was passed to adjust the cap so that a Choose Life plate can be approved in the future.

A set of bills regarding end-of-life decision making was introduced in May 2016 to implement a Michigan POST document (Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment). RLM legislative staff have been guiding the development of legislation to be sure that it does not become a vehicle to promote passive euthanasia. The bills will be reintroduced in 2017, with more work to do on them before they can pass.

Court Cases Affecting Life Issues 
We went to court in 2014 to challenge the Obamacare HHS Mandate, which requires employers to purchase health insurance that must cover contraceptive drugs and devices, including those that may cause early abortions. Right to Life of Michigan, like many other plaintiffs, lost its case at the trial court level. With the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Hobby Lobby case, the ongoing case with the Little Sisters of the Poor, and the prospect of significant portions of Obamacare being repealed and replaced, there remains a good chance of long-term success on this issue to respect the conscience rights of prolife citizens.

We got involved in a case—Simpson v. Pickens—regarding the loss of an unborn child due to medical malpractice. The doctor in the case happens to be one of Detroit’s more notorious abortionists, Dr. Alex Pickens, who maintains a separate OB/GYN practice from the abortion clinic. Pickens argued that because the baby was lost at 18 weeks (i.e. not “viable”), he was not liable under the Wrongful Death Act. We amended that act more than 15 years ago clarifying that a wrongful act that causes the death of an unborn child applies regardless of gestational age. The state trial court agreed with Pickens; the Michigan Court of Appeals overturned the flawed ruling and cited specifically the prolife laws we initiated; Pickens then appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court. RLM submitted an amicus curiae brief urging the Supreme Court to reject the appeal and uphold the Court of Appeals decision, which they did!

The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in People v. Ambrose that a man convicted of nearly taking the life of his pregnant girlfriend could receive an enhanced sentence based on Michigan’s “multiple victim” sentencing guidelines. Ambrose argued that his unborn child was not a “victim” under the sentencing law. The Court cited our Prenatal Protection Act, which it said makes very clear that the unborn child can be considered a separate victim of a crime in state law, even if the sentencing law does not have a formal definition of “victim."

Dispelling the myth: abortion side effects and the new JAMA study

Abortion is procedure that can cause some major side effects, substantially contributing to women’s mental health problems (and physical health problems as well). But unfortunately the media tries to divert the truth and push stories that neglect to talk about women’s health and safety.

Over the years there have been conflicting studies brought forth on whether or not there is mental health implications that come after having an abortion. JAMA Psychiatry recently released a study from the pro-abortion University of California-San Fransisco stating that women who had an abortion are not any more likely to have psychological damage than those who couldn't have one.

UCSF researchers looked at 956 women for five years who were either post-abortive or women who tried to get an abortion and were denied. This data comes from their "Turnaway Study," which was widely reported. Their new study went on the claim that through the information that they collected, they could decide that abortion really had no long-term effect on mental health.

It takes a lot to jump to a conclusion about everyone who has ever had an abortion from just one study, especially one whose data has some very glaring problems.

Most women in the original "Turnaway Study" turned away from participating in it. Only a small selection of women asked to participate volunteered. Were those that actively chose to participate more likely to think about their abortions positively?

The UCSF researchers did not note what types of abortions these were. First trimester abortions can still be traumatizing, but late-term abortions are widely-recognized to have a larger affect. Were these not more traumatizing second trimester abortions? Where are those details?

There are several other problems with the basic data they used.

Back in 2011 an extensive study review was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry (BJP) on the psychological effects of abortion. The BJP sample consisted of 22 studies and over 800,000 participants. The results showed that women who aborted experienced an 81% increased risk for mental health problems. This study offers the largest estimate of mental health risks associated with abortion currently available.

Abortion supporters often fail to look at the countless testimonies of women who have experienced the real psychological side effects of abortion like depression, anxiety, stress, and even suicidal thoughts. Many of these women wish they had access to more information when they had an abortion.

Some states, like Michigan, have laws in place to educate women on abortion before the procedure can take place. In 1993 Michigan passed our Informed Consent Law, which creates a 24-hour waiting period before a women can receive an abortion. Information pertaining to abortions must be made available to women who are abortion-mined at least 24 hours prior to their abortion being performed. This includes a summary of the procedure, gestation age of the baby, prenatal care information and parenting information.

Making sure that women are educated and know the potential mental health risks related to abortion is important for safety. When taking something as routine as an antibiotic, you are made aware of potential side effects; abortion should be no different.

Every few years a study comes out—usually funded by the same pro-abortion sources—and it gets widely hyped in the media. The study and media coverage utterly delegitimizes any women who don't believe their abortion was a positive good. We know the goal here is to normalize abortion rather than educate women about the psychological harm abortion can do to them.

Last chance to make an impact in 2016

2016 was certainly an interesting year. We frequently address prolife legislative and political action achievements in Michigan as we approach the end of the year, but what about just our educational efforts? What about that third, critical leg of our prolife stool?

The Right to Life of Michigan Educational Fund had another excellent year. There are many educational programs that are daily, never-ending activities. Of course these continued throughout the year: making educational resources available (most for free and available 24/7 on our website), daily social media activity, resource centers across the state, directing people online to pregnancy help resources, etc.

There were some unique and interesting accomplishments, however, worth highlighting individually.

Both Michigan’s state report and the annual CDC report released in 2016 showed abortion continued it’s long-term decline. In both cases abortion ratios also declined, meaning a higher proportion of women chose life for their children. Those numbers are the ultimate way we measure our educational success. Prolife education literally saves lives in ways other educational efforts simply can’t!

One example was the infamous (depending on who you ask) prolife Doritos ad during Superbowl 50. The ad showed an unborn child via ultrasound, and some hapless media staffer at NARAL freaked out via their social media account on Twitter, creating a wonderful educational opportunity that prolifers took full advantage of. The Ed Fund’s reach through social media, technology, and communications allows us to take such educational opportunities and amplify them greatly.

New resources were created:

• We debuted a bi-weekly podcast, LifeBeat.
• Our information on doctor-prescribed suicide and euthanasia were overhauled in the face of renewed pro-suicide advocacy. 
• A new free Powerpoint presentation compares abortion methods with fetal development.
• We created a new poster that highlights fetal development, as well as updating the free flyer that goes along with it.
• We created a new brochure to help churches understand how 501(c)3 nonprofits can educate people involving election activities.

Two new ground-breaking educational ads made their debut. Back in January, our 30-minute documentary "Life Uninvited" aired statewide on television. The documentary was a capstone for our Compassion Project TV ad campaign run throughout 2015 that delved into the difficult issue of rape and abortion.

"War on the Unborn” was a radio ad that debuted just before the election, receiving overwhelmingly positive responses. Called “the BB ad" by most, "War on the Unborn" was another example of the Ed Fund taking a prolife opportunity and amplifying its effect. The ad was based on a popular YouTube video by Peter Heck, and we were able to take his video and turn it into an ad heard throughout the state; it was an ad powerful enough to cause people to pull their cars over as they were overwhelmed by the sound of abortion.

Before these resources and opportunities can be utilized by volunteers and the public, they first need to be created. Besides helping prolife educational efforts using your own time and effort, you too can help play a part in the creation stage.

Now is our opportunity to finish the year strong! Please help the Right to Life of Michigan Educational Fund meet the goal of $50,000 in year-end online donations. Thank to generous support those donations will be matched, doubling your impact for life! Help us finish strong and lay the groundwork for greater achievements in 2017.

DONATE TODAY

Michigan Legislature passes bills to ban fetal tissue trafficking

On December 14, the Michigan House passed SB 546 and 565 with a vote of 69-37 and 68-39. These bills received support from several members of the Democratic House Caucus who usually are solid pro-abortion votes. These bills are now headed to the desk of Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, where he is expected to sign them.

SB 564 will prohibit the exchange of any form of compensation for fetal tissue or organs. SB 565 establishes the legal penalties for engaging in fetal tissue trafficking.

State Senator Phil Pavlov introduced this bill after the Center for Medical Progress had released a series of videos showing senior members of Planned Parenthood engaging in fetal organ and tissue trafficking. The videos further show abortion providers haggling over the prices for certain fetal parts, and being willing to change abortion procedures to get them.

While it is currently legal to receive a procurement fee for removing and delivering fetal organs and tissue, the videos show a picture of profiteering and greed. Because there are no guidelines within the law for fees that can be collected, this legislation will simply prohibit any exchange of money in Michigan, but will allow the practice of fetal tissue and organ donations.

Fetal tissue research is nothing new. Since at least the 1920s, scientists have used fetal tissue for various medical reasons. However it wasn't until elective abortions became legal that the ethics of fetal tissue experimentation became hotly debated. Last year alone the National Institutes of Health spent $76 million of projects involving fetal tissue. Any existing or potential funds from the federal government for research projects in Michigan will not be affected by these bills, but the exchange of money to abortion providers who are selling fetal tissue for profit will end once these bills are signed into law.

An end to US aid for abortions overseas?

Did you know that the United States currently sends money overseas to promote abortions and abortion-related services?

President Ronald Reagan wanted to prevent US tax dollars to be given to other countries for promoting abortion. In 1984 he created the Mexico City Policy, which required all foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that receive federal funding to refrain from performing or promoting abortion services as a method of family planning internationally. After it passed, several international groups changed their policies so that they could still receive funding. Some groups, like the International Planned Parenthood Federation, did not.

This policy was in place until it was rescinded by Democratic President Bill Clinton in January 1993. It was re-instituted in January 2001 when President George W. Bush took office, and rescinded again in 2009 after President Barack Obama took office.

Since being rescinded in 2009, US tax dollars have been used to not only promote abortions, but to help perform abortions. The Helms amendment is a permanent law created in 1973 after Roe v. Wade to forbid foreign aid from directly paying for abortions. Without the Mexico City Policy, however, a loop hole is provided allowing abortion organizations to receive funding. In the same way Planned Parenthood expands abortion when they receive tax dollars at home, they and other abortion organizations can provide more abortions overseas with access to our tax dollars. Once in their budget, one dollar is as good as the next despite whatever accounting gimmicks they are required to abide by.

With thousands of service points in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe, hundreds of thousands of abortion-related services have taken place in the absence of the Mexico City Policy. There is no denying that this aid to other countries  drives up their abortion numbers, only hurting them. Many of these countries where abortion is being introduced have strict social and religious mandates against killing the unborn. Aid to abortion organizations takes away money that could be given to other legitimate healthcare organizations that work to provide family planning and other health services.

We need policies that help people internationally, not cause further harm by promoting an abortion-on-demand agenda. President-elect Trump will have an opportunity to revisit the Mexico City Policy next month.

Double your gift for life

This month, Right to Life of Michigan supporters have the opportunity to double their impact on the prolife movement. 

When donating to the Right to Life of Michigan Educational Fund, generous donors will be matching the donations of individuals up to $50,000.

But hurry! The deadline is December 31.       

Please consider donating as we look to reach our goal in these last days of 2016. Your support makes all of the life-saving work that we do possible!

Double your donation today by donating online to Right to Life of Michigan Educational Fund.

December 10th is Human Rights Day

The United Nations created Human Rights Day in 1950 after World War II. They wanted to prevent the killing of millions of innocent people from happening again. Therefore, they created a day to remind us that a right is something that belongs to every person.

All human beings have the inalienable right to life. This right is innate to individuals, rather than a privilege granted by governments or those in political office. Unfortunately, this is not a right that has been universally applied to the unborn child, who is undeniably a member of our human family.

Since 1973, in the United States alone, more than 57 million abortions have taken place. The basic human rights of 57 million have been violated through the violence of abortion.

Did you know that a heart of an unborn child starts beating at just 21 days old? Did you know that at 16 weeks a child can suck her thumb? It has been more than four decades since Roe v. Wade, yet many are still unaware of the amazing development of unborn children in the womb. While it can be easy to close our eyes and plug our ears because we do not want to hear about the awful ways so many children are killed, we must be aware that this is happening daily in our country, thousands of times.

If it counted, abortion would be the leading cause of death in America.

It is important that we take the time to remember those poor innocents who lives were taken from them—those who did not get a chance to enjoy those basic human rights.

Right to Life of Michigan has created a new resource that educates people on both the value of children in the womb, and the ways abortion cruelly violates their human dignity. Cruel and Usual Punishment is a free PowerPoint presentation you can download and use in any setting for older students and adults. While the presentation does include accurate descriptions of abortion techniques, it does not include graphic pictures of abortion.

Cruel and Usual Punishment Presentation
Presentation script

Abortions down 5% nationally in latest CDC report

Encouraging news came the day after Thanksgiving: the Centers for Disease Control released their annual report on abortion numbers, showing a 5% decrease. The numbers come from state abortion reports.

Before getting into the details, it’s important to note that three states refuse to collect and report abortion statistics: California, Maryland, and New Hampshire. While the overall abortion numbers are therefore much higher than reported by the CDC, we can still see the overall trends clearly from the 47 states we do have reports from.

Abortions continue to decline in America 
A total of 664,435 abortions were reported to CDC in 2013. The reported abortion rate was 12.5 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years. The reported abortion ratio was 200 abortions per 1,000 live births. All three measures were 5% decreases from 2012, so there were fewer abortions and a higher percentage of women chose life for their children.

The latest national estimate by the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute was 1,085,800 abortions in 2011. Both the Guttmacher and CDC numbers show a long-term decline.

Abortion is aging 
Trends continue to show that more abortions are being performed on older women. Teens had 17.4% of abortions in 2004, compared to 11.7% in 2013. Women in the post-college age bracket of 25-34 had 37.9% of the abortions in 2004, but had 42.7% in 2013. The abortion ratios declined in all age groups, however, so both younger and older women are more likely to choose life in 2013 than in 2004. Older women also have much lower abortion ratios than younger women. A dramatic decline in teen abortions is part of the reason for the aging of abortion, but there’s a lot more to the story.

Just 1% are late-term abortions? That’s a lot of late-term abortions!
How many times have you seen politicians or abortion supporters dismiss late-term abortions as “rare” or not worth even discussing?

In the 2013 CDC report there are 40 reporting areas that collected information on how old the child is at the time he or she is aborted. The report showed 5,770 late-term abortions after 20 weeks, or 1.3% of all abortions. A good estimate for the entire nation is about 10,000 abortions every year given the roughly 1 million total abortions. Let’s just look at that reported figure though. How many is 5,770 late-term abortions? It’s 5,770 too many, especially when a large majority of Americans oppose late-term abortions. Compare that to other causes of death nationally, however. The latest CDC numbers showed 4,605 deaths from influenza in 2014. Are deaths from the flu so rare they are not worth addressing?

Just that “small” amount of late-term abortions should highlight the gut-wrenching numbers when looking at overall abortions. Why can’t our public health system devote as much attention to abortion as it does the seasonal flu? The dreaded Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 is estimated to have killed 50-100 million people globally in three years. In the three years from 2010-2013 there have been an estimated 168 million abortions globally. Abortion is not a once-in-a-century pandemic; it takes life on the scale of a permanent pandemic.

Don’t let someone dismiss abortion or late-term abortions as a side-issue; help them learn the facts.

Abortion has a disparate impact on the Black Community 
The good news is abortion ratios dropped in every racial and ethnic category in 2013. The bad news is the ratio is much higher in the Black community and it’s not dropping as quickly as other groups. The 2013 abortion ratio per 1,000 live births for non-Hispanic White women was 121, it was 178 for Hispanic women of any race and 420 for non-Hispanic Black women. The drops in abortion ratios from 2007 to 2013 were 23% for non-Hispanic Whites, 17% for non-Hispanic Blacks, and 13% for Hispanics.

Abortion is a cyclical problem that’s not being addressed 
Contrary to popular thought, abortion is not a one-time occurrence for most women. Nearly half of abortions are repeat abortions. Of women who had abortions in 2013, 55% were having their first abortion, and 45% were having their second abortion or more. Serial abortion is a serious problem, because 20% of women having abortions in 2013 were having their third abortion or more, and 9% were having their fourth abortion or more. If there are 1 million abortions in the U.S., then 90,000 women every year are having at least the fourth abortion in their lifetime.

Another tragic number is that of women who had abortions in 2013, 60% had already given birth to a child. These are women who probably already sat through an ultrasound with their first child as part of the birth process.

Conclusion? Celebrate more lives saved, but much more effort is still needed!

Year-end online contributions doubled

We just finished a historic election, especially in the state of Michigan.

Two roads were placed before us. One would have involved facing the stunning reality of a presidential administration and judges absolutely hostile to our core value that human life has intrinsic value.

Instead we're facing a road that could involve overturning Roe v. Wade in the near future. How near? We're potentially two U.S. Supreme Court justice appointments away, and one is already in the process of being filled.

What would our country look like without Roe v. Wade? What about Michigan? These questions in a few short years could consume the national conversation. People will be clamoring for a roadmap to make sense of these potential changes.

Once again generous prolife donors have provided a matching grant opportunity at the end of the year. All online gifts to the Right to Life of Michigan Educational Fund through December 31, 2016 will be matched up to $50,000.

 Just like an online map you've probably used, our educational materials and messages are available to everyone for free. Without your dedicated support, we can neither create these materials or get them out into the public square.

Please join us as our nation embarks on this historic journey. We must be able to provide the answer when people ask: "What happens when Roe v. Wade is no longer the law of the land?"

DONATE

Mail order abortions

Abortion by mail is a new way to bring abortions to states where they are "hard to find."  The latest push by the abortion industry is truly creating abortion-on-demand with the idea that a simple phone call can allow abortion pills to arrive straight to your mailbox.

Currently Hawaii, New York, Oregon and Washington are participating in an experimental trial which literally hands over an abortion pill with few questions asked. Currently this practice is not approved in the U.S. by the FDA.  However, in Australia and in the Canadian province of British Columbia, this has become a common practice. All it takes is a quick call or Internet chat with an abortionist and you can receive the RU-486 abortion pills through the mail.

After these countries have begun to pioneer the way for this new practice, there is now an experimental push in the United States to look into an American version of this practice.

This push is being organized by Gynuity Health Projects, the abortion pill has long been a top priority for them. On their own website they boast of organizing abortion trade convention workshops entitled, “Medical abortion service provision: How low can we go?” and “Can we omit the screening ultrasound before medical abortion?”

Even though the experiments are said to be closely watched, there are countless complications that can come with taking the abortion pill. Not having an actual medical professional examine you doesn’t rule out other potentially dangerous complications that could arise, like an ectopic pregnancy.  It is also important to note that medical abortions often fail, leaving the woman to have an additional surgical abortion.

This experiment is yet another attempt by the abortion industry to dehumanize the unborn and cut corners. Rather than benefiting women, these rules are convenient for the abortion industry: how low can they go? These practices are unacceptable and creating an environment of abuse for women.

Prolife opportunities in wake of Trump win

President-elect Donald Trump’s win means the prolife movement has some critical opportunities in the days and years ahead to expand protections for human life.

The most important development involves the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court. Before the death of Antonin Scalia, any potential prolife law depended on the personal opinion of Justice Anthony Kennedy as the Court’s swing vote. A Scalia replacement with similar judicial philosophies would restore that balance.

If one of the four justices who consistently vote in favor of abortion leaves during a Trump administration, there is an opportunity for Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton to be overturned.

What would happen then? The issue of abortion would return to the voters and their representatives. For the first time since soundly rejecting abortion at the ballot box in 1972, Michigan voters would have a say. If Michigan’s pre-Roe abortion law is restored, abortion in Michigan would once again be banned, except in the rare cases to save the life of the mother.

As advocates for doctor-prescribed suicide continue efforts to legalize the practice state-by-state, a balanced or rule-of-law Supreme Court protects against a Roe v. Wade for suicide and euthanasia.

Those decisions depend on a President Trump and the U.S. Senate appointing and approving justices who recognize that abortion is not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution and voters should have a say in the matter.

Many legislative changes are also possible. Immediately the Mexico City Policy, which prevents U.S. tax dollars from providing or promoting abortion overseas, could be restored by a President Trump through an executive order.

President-elect Trump promised to defund Planned Parenthood as long as they continue providing abortions and a Republican Congress could finally clear a path for that change. A federal effort to ban late-term abortions after 20 weeks could be passed, and it may have a chance to clear a Supreme Court challenge, even if Anthony Kennedy is still the swing vote.

Another critical priority is repealing Obamacare. Troubling provisions regarding abortion funding would be gone, and the HHS Mandate could be rescinded, allowing groups that object to drugs that may cause abortions to be free from being coerced to purchase them.

America is undeniably a divided nation moving forward, but a Trump administration offers a crucial opportunity to restore the ability of American voters to grapple with the issues of human life.

Decisive prolife victory

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your election efforts!

Donald J. Trump, who campaigned as a prolife candidate and suggested in the third debate that his Supreme Court nominees could overturn Roe v. Wade, is America’s president-elect. Trump won Michigan by just 13,225 votes, the first time a prolife presidential candidate has carried the state since 1988. Your efforts made an astounding difference!

Last night was a positive first step, but the real battle for prolifers is at the U.S. Supreme Court. Antonin Scalia’s seat still needs to be filled, and that justice must recognize the plain fact that abortion is mentioned nowhere in the U.S. Constitution. A Republican U.S. Senate must thoroughly participate in the process to ensure non-biased rule of law justices are picked for the Supreme Court and other court vacancies throughout the country.

All of the congressional candidates endorsed by the RLM-PAC won last night, including the critical races featuring Jack Bergman in the Upper Peninsula/Northern Michigan and Rep. Tim Walberg from mid-Michigan.

Statewide results show a strong prolife performance. All but one priority Michigan House races were won by RLM-PAC endorsed candidates. The Michigan Legislature retains large prolife majorities. The Michigan Supreme Court candidates both won. Four of seven prolife candidates to state education boards won as well.

RLM-PAC-endorsed statewide and judicial candidates won 90.8% of their races last night. We’re still counting up the local races.

The only troubling result was doctor-prescribed suicide winning in Colorado. The culture of death had a large defeat last night, but it will not simply go away. More effort is needed.

Right to Life of Michigan is unique, because our strength is in our local, grassroots volunteers. You are the finest prolife volunteers in the nation and the entire world. Your grassroots reach is unmatched in Michigan.

These victories belong to you. Thank you!

Our Prenatal Protection Act in action

What happens in Michigan when a pregnant woman is assaulted? Recently Michigan’s prenatal protection laws came in handy in making sure a criminal spent more time behind bars.

Samuel Demetrious Ambrose was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison for some pretty heinous actions:

Allegan County Circuit Court Judge Kevin W. Cronin sentenced Ambrose to a minimum of four years in prison for the May 2014 assault and witness intimidation. His sentence was lengthened because the judge counted the woman’s unborn child as a second victim.

"I can’t remember when I've been so appalled at a defendant's behavior of what – what cruelty, what total disregard for human life and decency there was in this particular incident," Cronin said at sentencing. He compared the assault to water-boarding. 

The trial court ruled that Ambrose harmed two victims, classifying the mother's unborn child as a victim. Ambrose challenged the terms of his sentence; his lawyer argued that the unborn child should not be counted as a second victim because the child is not a "person."

On October 26 the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the child can be considered a victim, because Michigan's law clearly refers to "victims," not "persons," and based on our state's Prenatal Protection Act, the Legislature clearly intended unborn children to be counted as potential victims of a crime. Ambrose's enhanced sentence of 32 to 48 months in prison for felonious assault will stand.

Michigan updated protections for unborn children by passing the Prenatal Protection Act in 1999. Previously the child had to be born alive and then die in order to be counted as a victim of a crime committed while the child was in the womb. The born-alive rule was necessary as a matter of evidence before the advent of ultrasound, because the only way to know a child in the womb was alive at any point (and harmed by the criminal action) was the mother reporting her experience of the baby moving. Thanks to modern medicine, documenting the life of the child in the womb is easy and undeniable.

A dose of reality: the abortion industry’s sanitized language of death

Remember Deborah Nucatola? Planned Parenthood’s top doctor who explained how to crush a baby’s body in order to harvest more intact body parts? Though she was spirited away from the public eye when the Center for Medical Progress video investigation broke, she remains busy at work.

Nucatola co-authored a study in the current October 2016 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Her study examined the most efficient way to kill unborn children in a late-term abortion.

When you watch the Center for Medical Progress videos, you’ll see Nucatola and others often discussing “didge,” or “didging;” the practice of using the drug Digoxin before an abortion. While invented to treat heart conditions, in massive doses Digoxin causes a heart attack. Those looking to buy and sell the body parts of aborted babies did not want a “didged” baby; they needed the baby’s organs as fresh and pure as possible for experimentation or implantation into rodents.

Nucatola's study compared the results from injecting Digoxin directly into the baby to just injecting it into the amniotic fluid. The terms in the study are “intra-fetal” injections to achieve “fetal asystole” before performing a “dilation and evacuation.” What do those terms mean? A needle is inserted through the woman’s belly and into the baby’s body and the lethal drug is administered to give the baby a fatal heart attack. The baby is then examined to determine if the desired outcome was completed. A “failure," as the study calls it, is the baby surviving the lethal dose, only to die later through bleeding to death or shock as her arms and legs are literally torn off of her body in a dismemberment abortion.

20 week baby

Nucatola’s study coolly concluded that injecting the drug directly into the baby led to fewer “failures” than injecting it into the amniotic fluid for the baby to inhale. The “sample size” of the study was 270 babies between 20 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Why give a baby a massive heart attack before dismembering her? One of the worst outcomes for an abortionist is a born-alive baby. Abortionists are legally required to treat babies who survive abortions the same as any other baby, but because of lax abortion clinic regulations they often are not equipped to provide proper life-saving care. The goal of the abortion is after all not to end the pregnancy, but to end the baby’s life, even if it’s past the point of viability.

The way this study is written you would never know it is talking about giving viable babies fatal heart attacks. A medical journal dedicated to the arts of welcoming life into this world should be no place to calmly discuss the most efficient ways of disposing of “unwanted” lives.

Deborah Nucatola is not alone. When the topic of late-term abortion comes up in a political context, euphemisms and medical terms are deployed by politicians to distract people from the reality of abortion. In a few days we'll all be voting on a candidate, Hillary Clinton, who firmly supports late-term abortions, even during the process of birth.

Prolifers can cut through the fog and hold the abortion industry and their political allies accountable simply by asking them to plainly describe what they support. History has shown that people are more likely to support injustices when they can rely on euphemisms to pretend to the public and even their own consciences they aren't engaging in an injustice.

You never know when that honesty might change the mind of even the most hardened abortion supporter.

October 25 teleseminar update on the election

Join us on Tuesday, October 25, at 11 a.m. for a teleseminar update on the election. Joining us are special guests Mercedes Schlapp and Joseph Cella.

Mercedes Viana Schlapp is a columnist for The Washington Times and FOX News Contributor. She is the former Director of Specialty Media for President George W. Bush in the White House. A first generation Cuban-American and raised in Miami, Florida, she is fluent in Spanish and also provides political commentary for Univision, Telemundo, CNN en Español and national Spanish radio. Inspired by her father, who was held as a political prisoner in Fidel Castro’s Cuba in the 1960s, Mercy discovered her passion for politics at a young age. As co-founder of Cove Strategies, Mercy develops and implements media strategy for corporate and non-profit organizations.

Joseph Cella is the Catholic liaison for the Trump/Pence campaign and a member of the campaign's Catholic Advisory Group. As the principal of his consulting firm, The Pontifex Group, he draws from his extensive experience on Capitol Hill, the campaign trail, founding and leading non-profit organizations, and serving as an advisor to elected officials and business leaders. In 2005 he co-founded the Catholic advocacy organization Fidelis, which operates CatholicVote.org. He also founded and serves on the board of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. In his professional and personal capacities, he has worked behind the scenes helping Christian communities around the world enduring religious persecution. He also serves a strategist with Corallo Media Strategies in Virginia. He holds a degree from Hillsdale College, and he and his wife Kristen have six children and live on a small farm in Michigan.

The teleseminar will last 30-40 minutes. It’s open to all prolife people, feel free to share this information with your Michigan friends and family members.

There are two ways you can listen in:
Use your phone and call (425) 440-5100; PIN Code: 662744#
Or, listen online: http://iTeleseminar.com/90739308

We are looking forward to connecting with you on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 11:00 a.m!

Our new radio ad debuts today

Today our new radio ad is debuting across the state. "War on the Unborn" compares the human cost of abortion to those of America's major wars utilizing simple tools: BBs and a metal can.

These simple tools will leave you with a experience you will never forget.

The ad is entirely based off of Peter Heck's YouTube video, "The Sound of Abortion." To hear the ad and share it with others via e-mail or social media, simply watch Heck's video on YouTube. Click play, close your eyes, and listen to the sound of abortion:

Clinton lies about support for abortion in the debate

In the third presidential debate a question about abortion was finally brought up. Hillary Clinton reiterated her total support for the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion-on-demand through all nine months of pregnancy. Donald Trump said he would appoint prolife justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who would overturn Roe v. Wade.

A question was asked about Clinton’s support for the brutal partial-birth abortion (PBA) procedure. Clinton said she supports the procedure because of “women’s health.”

There is no legitimate health reason to perform PBAs. PBA takes three days to complete. If a woman is facing an imminent health crisis, a procedure that takes three days to complete is irresponsible.

 PBA involves delivering a child until only the head is left in the birth canal. The abortionist then stabs the child in the head using scissors with a curved blade. The scissors are opened, creating a hole in the baby’s skull wide enough to insert a suction catheter to suck out her brains. What health benefit is there to stabbing the baby in the head rather than completing the delivery?

Partial-birth abortion is not about women’s health, it’s about making a dead baby.

Clinton lied in two ways about the issue. Trump correctly pointed out that Clinton supports abortions up to the ninth month, even the final day of birth. Trump could have gone farther and correctly explained she supports abortion during the birth process! Clinton responded: “That is not what happens in these cases.” Aborting a baby during birth is obviously what happens in a partial-birth abortion. The name is as self-explanatory as it gets.

Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton also allows abortion through all nine months of pregnancy. Clinton earlier said she strongly supports these decisions. She tried to hide behind the “health exception,” but as the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Doe v. Bolton the same day they handed down Roe v. Wade, “health” means anything: social, psychological, financial. Anything impacts “health” according the court, so “health” means any reason a woman can think of.

Abortion up until the moment of birth, for any reason is the law of the land.

If Clinton appoints one more pro-abortion justice to the Supreme Court, it is likely the Court will reaffirm and expand Roe v. Wade, potentially throwing out the ruling in 2007 upholding the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, bringing that gruesome barbarity back to America, and people could be forced to pay for them with their tax dollars.

Court rules California can force pregnancy centers to advertise abortion clinics

Today the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals delivered an early birthday present to Planned Parenthood in time for their 100th birthday Sunday.

The Court denied a request for an injunction from NIFLA and other prolife pregnancy help organizations to protect their rights to free speech. The decision in NIFLA v. Harris revolves around a new California law that forces pregnancy centers to post a sign or give clients materials advertising a phone number they can call to help them receive a tax-funded abortion.

Obviously the U.S. Constitution's free speech protections were not enough to convince the 9th Circuit Court that prolife pregnancy centers should not be subject to compelled speech. The lead attorney in the case representing the pregnancy help organizations was Matt Bowman from Alliance Defending Freedom. In an article by LifeNews.com, Bowman said:

"It’s bad enough if the government tells you what you can't say, but a law that tells you what you must say—under threat of severe punishment—is even more unjust and dangerous. In this case, political allies of abortionists are seeking to punish pro-life pregnancy centers, which offer real hope and help to women. Forcing these centers to promote abortion and recite the government's preferred views is a clear violation of their constitutionally protected First Amendment freedoms. That’s why other courts around the country have halted these kinds of measures and why we will be discussing the possibility of appeal with our clients."

The issue of the case was that the 9th Circuit Court argued that the abortion advertising is "viewpoint neutral" because it forces abortion clinics to advertise their own services as well. This is wrong; a viewpoint neutral law should require the abortion clinics to advertise contact information for prolife pregnancy centers.

Imagine California mandating a law requiring liquor distributors and Alcoholic's Anonymous to hand out a list of the nearest liquor stores because the state believes consuming liquor has modest health benefits. The liquor distributor already does that because they believe in selling alcohol: it's their purpose of existence. The sole purpose of AA however is to encourage certain people not to purchase and consume alcohol. A law forcing them to contradict their mission while advancing the mission and financial interests of liquor distributors isn't neutral in any sense of the word!

The decision is no surprise. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has a history of highly ideological and even mistaken rulings, making it the most commonly reversed court in America by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The law itself is no surprise either, given California's long hostility to prolife people. They recently passed a law making it a crime to do undercover journalism at Planned Parenthood offices. Kamala Harris, California's attorney general and the other party of this pregnancy center case, is at Planned Parenthood's beck and call. Harris authorized a raid on the home of David Daleiden, the citizen journalist who uncovered Planned Parenthood's trafficking of body parts of aborted babies, and stole his footage. California forces taxpayers to pay for abortions, has refused to report any statistics on abortion in the state, recently passed a law to allow nurses to perform surgical abortions; the list goes on and on.

The important question prolife people should be asking themselves is how might a U.S. Supreme Court rule on this case in the coming years? Will pregnancy centers in Michigan be forced to advertise abortion clinics? Will the U.S. Supreme Court more closely resemble California and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals than the opinion of most Americans?

Second presidential debate and abortion still not discussed in-depth

Again abortion was not brought up during the second presidential debate on Sunday night. There wasn’t a single question asked about this human rights issue that affects millions of lives every year. Abortion hangs like a dark cloud over every judicial appointment.

It did get incidentally brought up when a debate attendee asked about the Supreme Court justices each candidate would nominate. Hillary Clinton promised to nominate justices who would stick with Roe v. Wade and uphold abortion through all nine months of pregnancy. She mentioned that Donald Trump would like to reverse Roe v. Wade and this would take our country backwards. Donald Trump said he wants to nominate judges from the same mold as the late Justice Antonin Scalia: judges who would respect the Constitution.

The word "abortion" was not mentioned at all during the town hall-style debate. Since this is an issue that many Americans have strong thoughts and feelings about, it should get discussed at some point during the debates so that the American people can see the wide contrast between Trump and Clinton's positions.

We'll do the job the moderators didn't and give you some more details on the candidate's positions from their own past statements, click here for Donald Trump's record on life, and click here for Hillary Clinton's.

VP Debate: Pence stands for life while Kaine gives implausible excuses for being pro-choice

During the Vice-Presidential debate last night, Indiana Governor Mike Pence and U.S. Senator from Virginia Tim Kaine were asked to discuss a time they struggled balancing their personal faith and a public policy position.

Senator Kaine first talked about upholding the death penalty even though it wasn’t something that he agreed with. He said that those of faith can’t impose their views on everyone else in society. This is his justification for saying he is personally against abortion, but along with Hillary Clinton he is okay with partial-birth abortion, taxpayer-funding of abortion, etc.

Governor Pence then proceeded to explain why he is so passionate about the sanctity of human life:

"But for me, I would tell you that for me the sanctity of life proceeds out of the belief that -- that ancient principle that -- where God says before you were formed in the womb, I knew you, and so for my first time in public life, I sought to stand with great compassion for the sanctity of life. But what I can't understand is with Hillary Clinton and now Senator Kaine at her side is to support a practice like partial-birth abortion. I mean, to hold to the view -- and I know Senator Kaine, you hold pro-life views personally -- but the very idea that a child that is almost born into the world could still have their life taken from them is just anathema to me. And I cannot -- I can't conscience about -- about a party that supports that. Or that -- I know you've historically opposed taxpayer funding of abortion. But Hillary Clinton wants to -- wants to repeal the longstanding provision in the law where we said we wouldn't use taxpayer dollars to fund abortion. So for me, my faith informs my life. I try and spend a little time on my knees every day. But it all for me begins with cherishing the dignity, the worth, the value of every human life." 

Kaine then responded with more talk about not imposing values on people:

"But we really feel like you should live fully and with enthusiasm the commands of your faith. But it is not the role of the public servant to mandate that for everybody else. So let's talk about abortion and choice. Let's talk about them. We support Roe v. Wade. We support the constitutional right of American women to consult their own conscience, their own supportive partner, their own minister, but then make their own decision about pregnancy. That's something we trust American women to do that." 

Kaine says multiple times that government leaders shouldn’t push their religion on the people. There are two big problems with those comments.

First, Kaine has no problem pushing his new-found beliefs about abortion on people. He openly supports forcing people to pay for abortions directly through their tax dollars. He supports a candidate who does not believe health care providers should be able to conscientiously object to abortion. He has spoken often about how his religion informs his beliefs on a range of other issues, laws and regulations. Why is abortion the only issue that should be different?

Second, abortion isn’t just a religious issue. Abortion is a moral issue, a scientific issue, and most importantly a basic human rights issue. Protecting human life is the first duty of government.

Pence and Kaine proceeded to argue about what Trump said in regards to punishing women for having an abortion. Pence said that a Trump-Pence administration would only support prolife laws that historically have always put penalties on abortionists. In response, Kaine quoted from a scripture passage, Matthew 15:18, to disagree: “From the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks.”

Kaine’s choice of that verse is very sad. When Senator Kaine glosses over the fact that his running mate thinks it should be legal to stab a partially-born baby in the head and suck her brains out, is that from the fullness of his heart?

Senator Kaine: you can’t be both prolife and pro-choice. Either every human being has an inalienable right to life and any violation of that right is a grave injustice, or unborn children in the womb have zero human value and therefore should have no legal protections.

Kaine asked Pence multiple times why he doesn’t trust women to make this choice for themselves. Why don’t we allow people to choose to take an innocent human life? We don't because no person has the right to take away the rights of another person. Human life undeniably begins at fertilization and the unborn child is a member of our human family.

Pence said it quite succinctly, “a society can be judged by how it deals with its most vulnerable, the aged, the infirm, the disabled, and the unborn. I believe it with all my heart.”