It's the End of the Blog As We Know It...

For more than 12 years, the Right to Life of Michigan Blog has been faithfully informing you about prolife issues. In that time, our blog has been viewed more than 591,000 times.

Alas, all good things must come to an end (sort of). Today the new RTL.org has debuted. The new version is mobile-friendly, cleaner, and better-organized to help you find the same prolife information you have come to rely upon.

With the big change, we'll be doing blog posts directly on the new website. The move will help to increase our website's traffic and educational reach.

You can visit the new blog here: RTL.org/news

In this space, we've complained about Senator Debbie Stabenow, debunked horrifically poor reporting on the field of stem cell research, and followed along with heart-wrenching stories like Alfie Evans' fight for life. We've celebrated victories and provided counsel after defeats. Hopefully along the way we've changed some hearts—and most importantly, saved lives.

All of that old content will remain available here, untouched, until Blogger/Google shuts it down. We'll continue referring back to old posts with educational information that is still relevant today.

On the new RTL.org, you can rely on the same informative, factual, and timely perspective on news and prolife issues that you expect here. Join us over there!

Thanks for reading what we've had to say here and using it in your own conversations on our critical prolife issues.

Clicking "publish" one last time...

Right to Life of Michigan's communications team

Right to Life of Michigan Files Petition Drive Paperwork

Grand Rapids, MI -- Right to Life of Michigan has filed paperwork today to begin a petition drive to bypass Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s promised veto of legislation to ban dismemberment abortions.

On May 14, the Michigan House and Senate voted in favor of identical bills to ban dismemberment abortions (D&E abortions), the most common late-term abortion procedure. Another procedural vote is needed for the bills to be sent to Governor Whitmer’s desk.

In a statement yesterday, Governor Whitmer reiterated her opposition to any limit on abortion and promised to veto a dismemberment ban.

Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said, “Governor Whitmer still has the chance to change her mind and do the right thing. If she won’t sign these bills to stop babies from having their arms and legs torn off, we’ll find 400,000 Michigan citizens who will sign it.”

Right to Life of Michigan will be using Michigan’s citizen-initiated legislation process to send the bills directly to the Michigan Legislature for passage, entirely bypassing the governor. The name of the initiative is "Michigan Values Life: End Dismemberment Abortions."

The initiative’s goal is to collect 400,000 signatures. The required number of signatures for initiated legislation is 340,047; 8 percent of the 2018 total votes cast in the governor’s race.

There are several legal and logistical steps to complete in order to begin collecting signatures, including having the petition form be approved by the Board of State Canvassers. There is also some uncertainty if the 2018 law revising the petition drive process will be challenged in court.

Listing said, “We’ve already received a large outpouring of requests to get involved. We’re asking people to be patient while we work through the initial process. We’re confident that once we begin gathering signatures that we’ll meet our goal of 400,000, no matter which set of rules we’re operating under.”

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy used the term “dismemberment” to describe dilation and evacuation abortions (D&E) in his U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions on partial-birth abortion.

In Stenberg v. Carhart, Justice Kennedy wrote, “The fetus, in many cases, dies just as a human adult or child would: It bleeds to death as it is torn from limb from limb. The fetus can be alive at the beginning of the dismemberment process and can survive for a time while its limbs are being torn off.”

The dismemberment abortion procedure is the most frequently used late-term abortion procedure. In 2017, there were 1,777 dismemberment abortions in Michigan reported to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The dismemberment ban bills include an exception if the mother's life is in danger. However, in published research on reasons women have abortions, the pro-abortion Alan Guttmacher Institute has stated that most late-term abortions are done for elective reasons.

In a 2013 Guttmacher Institute study, the authors admitted, “data suggest that most women seeking later terminations are not doing so for reasons of fetal anomaly or life endangerment.”

For more information: Right to Life of Michigan Director of Communication/Education Chris Gast, (616) 532-2300, info@rtl.org.

Background Information: 
DISMEMBERMENT ABORTION ANIMATED PORTRAYAL
MICHIGAN ABORTION STATISTICS
GUTTMACHER LATE-TERM ABORTION STUDY

Watch our Short Films on TBN

In the coming weeks the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) will be airing two Right to Life of Michigan Educational Fund documentaries nationally.

Life Uninvited is a 30-minute documentary exploring the journey of four women facing their life challenges surrounding rape, abortion and societal attitudes. The documentary is also available for purchase from our online store.

Still on That Journey features prolife advocate Christina Marie Bennett, herself almost a victim of abortion. She shares her story while exploring the issues of feminism, Black history, and the barriers that often exist between the mainstream prolife movement and the African American community. Still on That Journey features footage from our short film series that is available on our YouTube channel.

Program schedule: 

Life Uninvited
Monday, May 13th, 1:00am ET
Thursday, May 16th, 9:30pm ET
Saturday, May 18th, 4:30am ET
Monday, June 3rd, 1:00am ET
Thursday, June 6th, 9:30pm ET
Saturday, June 8th, 4:30am ET

Still on That Journey
Monday, May 20th, 1:00am ET
Thursday, May 23rd, 9:30pm ET
Saturday, May 25th, 4:30am ET
Monday, June 10th, 1:00am ET
Thursday, June 13th, 9:30pm ET
Saturday, June 15th, 4:30am ET

Dismemberment Ban on Michigan House and Senate Floors

May 9, 2019, Lansing, Mich.—Today the Michigan Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee voted 5 to 2 to send our dismemberment abortion ban to the full Michigan Senate.

Senate Bills 229 & 230 would amend Michigan’s 2011 ban on partial-birth abortions by including the dismemberment abortion procedure, also known as a dilation and evacuation abortion (D&E).

Identical bills are pending on the floor of the Michigan House. House bills 4320 & 4321 were recommended favorably by the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said, “Both the Michigan Senate and House have these bills before them. It’s time to act and put an end to the practice of tearing arms and legs off of children in the womb.”

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy used the term “dismemberment” to describe dilation and evacuation abortions (D&E) in his U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions on partial-birth abortion.

In Stenberg v. Carhart, Justice Kennedy wrote, “The fetus, in many cases, dies just as a human adult or child would: It bleeds to death as it is torn from limb from limb. The fetus can be alive at the beginning of the dismemberment process and can survive for a time while its limbs are being torn off.”

Listing said, “This is not proper medical care for any human being. There is nothing humane about tearing the arms and legs off a child, before or after birth.”

The dismemberment abortion procedure is the most frequently-used late-term abortion procedure. In 2017, there were 1,777 dismemberment abortions in Michigan reported to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The dismemberment ban bills include an exception if the mother's life is in danger. However, in published research on reasons women have abortions, the pro-abortion Alan Guttmacher Institute has stated that most late-term abortions are done for elective reasons.

In a 2013 Guttmacher Institute study, the authors admitted, “But data suggest that most women seeking later terminations are not doing so for reasons of fetal anomaly or life endangerment.”

Background Information: 
DISMEMBERMENT ABORTION ANIMATED PORTRAYAL 
DISMEMBERMENT ABORTION FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
MICHIGAN ABORTION STATISTICS
GUTTMACHER LATE-TERM ABORTION STUDY

Michigan House to Consider Banning Dismemberment Abortions

Legislation to ban dismemberment abortions in Michigan is now on the Michigan House floor.

House Bills 4320 and 4321 would amend Michigan’s 2011 ban on partial-birth abortions by including the dismemberment abortion procedure, also known as a dilation and evacuation abortion (D&E).

Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said, “Dismemberment abortion involves tearing the arms and legs off of human beings. We must end this barbaric procedure in Michigan.”

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy accurately described dismemberment abortions in his opinions in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions on partial-birth abortion in Gonzales v. Carhart (2007) and Stenberg v. Carhart (2000).

In Gonzales, Justice Kennedy wrote, “The doctor grips a fetal part with the forceps and pulls it back through the cervix and vagina, continuing to pull even after meeting resistance from the cervix. The friction causes the fetus to tear apart. For example, a leg might be ripped off the fetus as it is pulled through the cervix and out of the woman.”

In Stenberg, Justice Kennedy wrote, “The fetus, in many cases, dies just as a human adult or child would: It bleeds to death as it is torn from limb from limb. The fetus can be alive at the beginning of the dismemberment process and can survive for a time while its limbs are being torn off.”

Listing said, “Abortion supporters are uncomfortable with accurately describing this procedure, because the inhumanity of it is obvious to everyone.”

The bills were reported favorably today by the Michigan House Judiciary Committee with a 7 to 5 vote. The bills were reported favorably by the House Families, Children, and Seniors Committee with a 5 to 4 vote on May 1. Identical bills are being considered by the Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee.

The dismemberment abortion procedure is the most frequently-used late-term abortion procedure. In 2017, there were 1,777 dismemberment abortions in Michigan reported to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Of those, 98 percent occurred in the second trimester, between 13 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The dismemberment ban bills include an exception if the mother's life is in danger. However, in published research on reasons women have abortions, the pro-abortion Alan Guttmacher Institute has stated that most late-term abortions are done for elective reasons.

In a 2013 Guttmacher Institute study, the authors admitted, “But data suggest that most women seeking later terminations are not doing so for reasons of fetal anomaly or life endangerment.”

Background Information
DISMEMBERMENT ABORTION ANIMATED PORTRAYAL
DISMEMBERMENT ABORTION FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
MICHIGAN ABORTION STATISTICS
GUTTMACHER LATE-TERM ABORTION STUDY

2019 Oratory Contest Results

The 30th annual Right to Life of Michigan Educational Fund High School Oratory Contest was held on Saturday, April 27th, in Holt, Michigan. There were 15 finalists who gave powerful speeches in defense of life.

The first-place winner was Calvin Cheney from Saginaw Right to Life. The second-place winner was Noel Vanderbilt from Holland Area Right to Life, and the third-place winner was Emma De Nooy from Grand Rapids Right to Life. The first place winner, Calvin, will compete in the National Right to Life Oratory Contest on July 6th in Charleston, South Carolina.

The High School Oratory Contest features students giving a 5-to-7-minute speech on one of several prolife topics. Right to Life of Michigan affiliates sponsor local contests, and the local winners compete in the state contest.

From Calvin’s speech: “The legalization of euthanasia will lead us down a terribly dangerous slippery slope. It will call into question the morality of killing another human being. If we deem the act of killing to be acceptable, in certain circumstances, than who or what will determine what those acceptable circumstances are? There will be no set rules to stop us from falling further down this path. Simply put, the acceptance of Euthanasia will lead to a degradation of the value of human life. It will lead to the devaluation of those who seem lesser than you. If we believe that it is okay to kill people who are terminally ill, which may seem acceptable to some, than what will stop us from believing it is okay to kill other people? People who have mental disabilities? People who are cripples? People who are born with birth defects like autism and down syndrome? All of these people, human beings, what will become of them? To question whether people with physical ailments still have the same rights as another human being is to question what even makes a human life valuable. A human life has intrinsic value from the point of conception to natural death. Nothing, not age, health, gender, race, religion, will ever change that.”

From Noel’s speech: “Many Pro-choice advocates would be reluctant to admit that the purpose of the child’s life has the right to “interfere” with the purpose of the mother’s life. “What about women’s rights?” They argue. “The mother should have the right to choose.” Historically speaking, feminists were strongly pro-life… That the current feminist movement advocates for abortion is absurd. According to Randy Alcorn, author of Why Pro-Life? Abortion has become the primary means of eliminating unwanted females around the globe. Sex-selection abortion is a major contributing factor to the unequal ratio of males to females throughout the world. Equal rights for women will never be achieved until unborn females are given the most basic rights—the right to life!”

From Emma’s speech: “My unknown parents in their heroic act also stood—lovingly, for my life, likely under more tragic circumstances than I could ever imagine. Their stand under harsh repression granted me a stand in freedom, albeit in a country that fails to uphold the primary inalienable right endowed by our Creator. As I take my stand, praying outside the local abortion clinic for a few hours every month, I honor the life-affirming choice my Chinese parents made. I plead not only for the repentance of my adopted homeland, but also for the little ones who deserve to be cradled in loving arms. Loving arms which reflect the love of my heavenly Father who will never leave me or forsake me.”

Emma De Nooy, Noel Vanderbilt, Calvin Cheney