WZZM highlights Michigan abortionists’ run-in with the law

Months ago, we wrote about how Thomas Gordon, the main abortionist in the Grand Rapids area for 3 decades, has had numerous run-ins with the law. Now, local television station WZZM has a report about how Gordon’s failure to report those legal troubles to state of Michigan means he isn't complying with the law.

Over several months leaders at Michigan's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs investigated Dr. Gordon's past and concluded in a complaint filed by the state last month that the doctor was not complying with the state's Public Health Code.  Specifically that he didn't report to the Michigan's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs his criminal record as required.

Here are the convictions not reported and his sentences in parentheses:
1992 Aggravated Assault (suspended jail sentence)
2012 Domestic Violence (sentenced to 4 days in jail)
2015 Disorderly Person (suspended jail sentence)
2015 Operating While Intoxicated (probation)

The report also includes comments from Gordon's wife describing how he beat her several times and put a gun to her head while she was sleeping.

Gordon's failure to report his criminal history could possibly lead to a license probation, license suspension or a fine. 

Coercive Abortion Prevention Act passes Michigan Senate

By a vote of 26-11, the Michigan Senate passed the Coercive Abortion Prevention Act (HB 4787) on May 25, 2016. All Senate Democrats and Republican Tory Rocca vote no while 26 Republicans voted yes.  This legislation now moves to Governor Rick Snyder’s desk. 

H.B. 4787 adds to Michigan's current anti-extortion/coercion provisions by including coercion to abort as a specific crime. It will be illegal to coerce a woman to abort by threatening or actually committing the following actions: physical assault, withdrawing financial support, or terminating or otherwise violating a legal contract, destroying or concealing a passport or other identification, and threats to deport or arrest.                                       

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS LEGISLATION

Abortion advocates go all out to support woman who tried to abort and then abandoned child who was born alive

Planned Parenthood and NARAL have been putting their weight behind an effort to free Purvi Patel.  Purvi Patel is a 35-year-old woman who was found guilty of feticide and neglect of a dependent after she attempted to use abortion pills to end the life of her 25-30 week unborn child in July of 2013.  Evidence showed the child was born alive and then Patel placed the child in a bag and put him in a dumpster outside her parent's restaurant (where he was found dead).  Authorities discovered the child after Patel went to hospital for treatment, claiming she had miscarried.  Patel was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Patel is now appealing her conviction and pro-abortion organizations are standing behind her and misleading their members regarding the facts of the case.

Below are some examples of their online efforts to mislead their members into thinking a woman who abandoned her newborn child in dumpster is somehow innocent. 

Any one of us could have been Purvi Patel. How else will state governments punish women for their reproductive decisions? #FreePurvi

— Planned Parenthood (@PPact) May 23, 2016

Purvi Patel has spent a year+ in prison for her pregnancy outcome. Learn about her case? https://t.co/nRL4ClFLwE pic.twitter.com/8G5zxw6QJj

— Planned Parenthood (@PPact) May 23, 2016

We support Purvi Patel in her appeal today. #FreePurvi pic.twitter.com/nUtPYh1hMU

— NARAL (@NARAL) May 23, 2016

For Planned Parenthood and NARAL defending infanticide shouldn't come as a huge surprise as the differences between abortion at late stages of pregnancy and infanticide are minimal. If people are horrified by Patel abandoning her newborn child at 25-30 weeks gestation in a dumpster, then shouldn't they also be horrified by late-term abortions where children are dismembered in the womb?  

Michigan’s long-term abortion decrease resumes in 2015

On May 18 the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services released their annual report on abortions in Michigan.

Abortions decreased 1.7 percent in 2015, down 44.7 percent from their high in 1987. Abortions performed on minors decreased 11.2 percent, down 78.7 percent since 1990. A total of 27,151 induced abortions were reported in Michigan.

Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said, “We would have liked to see a larger decrease, but these numbers represent almost 500 lives saved, which everyone should celebrate.”

 Abortion numbers increased in Michigan in 2013 and 2014. It’s likely that much of those increases were due to failures to follow state reporting requirements in previous years. Michigan updated abortion clinic regulations in 2012, causing several clinics to close, at least one of which was known to be not reporting abortion numbers. Women are now going to clinics more likely to follow state reporting laws.

In debates over Michigan’s Abortion Insurance Opt-Out Act in 2013, abortion supporters claimed that legislation would prevent women from using insurance to pay for abortions. The law protected conscience rights of individuals by preventing them from being forced to pay for abortions though Obamacare health exchanges.

In 2012, there were 739 abortions in Michigan paid for by insurance. In 2015, there were 1,538 paid for by insurance, more than double the number.

Listing said, “As usual, the exaggerated rhetoric of abortion advocates proved to be completely detached from reality.”

In 2015 abortion rates declined, as well as the abortion ratios, meaning a higher percentage of women chose life for their children. Abortion numbers for Michigan residents and out-of-state residents both declined, ending the recent surge in women traveling to Michigan to have abortions.

The average age of women who have abortions continued its long-term increase. There was little change in the number of repeat abortions in 2015, 50.1 percent of abortions in Michigan were repeat abortions, 24.8 percent of women were having their third abortion or more.

Listing said, “Nobody talks about the fact that a majority of abortions are repeat abortions. Why are so few addressing this problem?”

There are hopes that abortions will continue to decline if Michigan can finally complete the Coercive Abortion Prevention Act this term. A significant number of women are coerced or pressured into having abortions.

Listing said, “Despite claiming to be champions of choice, the abortion industry has an incentive to ignore this problem; they deny it even exists. They won’t address it, so we will.”

Supreme Court decision a win for the Little Sisters of the Poor, Right to Life of Michigan

On May 16 the U.S. Supreme Court reached an 8-0 decision in Zubik v. Burwell. Several organizations are suing the Obama Administration over the Department of Health and Human Service's contraceptive mandate. The most notable organization represented in Zubik was the Catholic religious order Little Sisters of the Poor.

The decision was described in many media reports as a “punt,” since the Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower courts for the parties to reach a final accommodation. The decision is a temporary victory, however, because it forbids the Obama Administration from enforcing crippling fines against organizations who don’t comply with the HHS Mandate.

The mandate was a dictate by the Obama Administration requiring employers to cover contraceptives and sterilizations as “preventative health services.” The Obamacare law requires all preventative services to be covered by health insurance plans for free. A few of the contraception options required to be covered can potentially cause abortions, including common forms of emergency contraception. The HHS Mandate was not part of the law itself as passed by lawmakers in Congress.

Right to Life of Michigan filed a separate suit in federal court against the Obama Administration over the HHS Mandate, but the case was dismissed by a federal judge after several delays. Right to Life of Michigan takes no position on true contraceptives, but it’s wrong to force an organization dedicated to ending abortion to purchase insurance plans that include drugs that can cause abortions.

As the many cases worked their way through the system, the Obama Administration continued to assert that there was no acceptable way for them to accommodate the deeply held beliefs of the Little Sisters of the Poor or other organizations. The Supreme Court disagreed, however, and even the Obama Administration belatedly admitted that other options were available.

A similar case, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., involved closely-held for-profit companies that objected to the HHS Mandate. Nonprofits organizations like the Little Sisters of the Poor and Right to Life of Michigan were not included in that decision. By a 5-4 decision in Hobby Lobby the Supreme Court ruled that the Obama Administration violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in attempting to force Hobby Lobby to purchase contraceptives. Hobby Lobby’s owners objected to only potentially abortifacient forms of contraceptives and offered other forms of birth control coverage to employees.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Zubik asserted that the Court did not reach a decision on whether or not the HHS Mandate violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act for nonprofits. Following the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia the fate of nonprofit organizations was in serious doubt. A potential 4-4 ruling would have left a patchwork of decisions in place depending on which circuit court district an organization was incorporated in.

RLM applauds Governor Snyder for signing Rape Survivor Child Custody Act

Governor Snyder signed the Rape Survivor Child Custody Act into law on May 3. The new law helps prevent a rapist from gaining custody of a child. The law was included in a larger package of bills addressing domestic violence that Governor Snyder also signed.

Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said, "Half of women who become pregnant through rape don't have abortions and most of those women decide to keep their child. Michigan was not doing enough to protect women from their attackers in those circumstances."

Under old state law a parent whose child was conceived through sexual assault had to secure a conviction in order to terminate the attacker's parental rights. Rape convictions can be difficult to obtain because the evidence standard is "beyond a reasonable doubt." The new law changes that evidence standard for child custody hearings to "clear and convincing," the same standard in custody hearings applied to child abuse accusations.

The change received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Michigan Legislature. The Senate passed it unanimously and the House passed the final version 105-3.

Throughout 2015 Right to Life of Michigan aired television ads as part of the compassion project. The ads directly addressed the issue of rape and abortion through the stories of four women. One of those women, Shauna, was forced to choose between pursuing charges against her attacker and protecting custody of her daughter.

Right to Life of Michigan and prolife legislators began working on the Rape Survivor Child Custody Act after learning about this weakness in the court system.

Listing said, "A child deserves love and protection, not to be used as a bargaining chip for rapists to threaten their mothers and escape prosecution."

Shauna's story, which inspired the Rape Survivor Child Custody Act, can be seen on Right to Life of Michigan's website here.