FactCheck.org notes that President Obama isn’t telling the truth about abortion and health care reform

During a recent telephone call with supporters, President Obama claimed that current health care reform plans wouldn’t allow the government funding of abortion and that prolife groups who were educating the public about this issue were “fabricating.”

The web site FactCheck.org has reviewed the health care legislation and concludes that President Obama is the one who is fabricating information, noting that “(d)espite what Obama said, the House bill would allow abortions to be covered by a federal plan and by federally subsidized private plans.”

Abortion foes quickly denounced Obama’s statement as untrue. The NRLC’s Johnson said "the bill backed by the White House (H.R. 3200) explicitly authorizes the government plan to cover all elective abortions." And our analysis shows that Johnson’s statement is correct. Though we of course take no position on whether the legislation should allow or not allow coverage for abortions, the House bill does just that.

FactCheck.org then concludes their report by saying,

“As for the House bill as it stands now, it’s a matter of fact that it would allow both a "public plan" and newly subsidized private plans to cover all abortions.”

FULL STORY

Human embryonic stem cell trial delayed

The only clinical trial approved by the FDA using cells created from embryonic stem cells has now been put on hold by the FDA. The delay occurred before any patients were enrolled in the study. No patients have yet to be successfully treated with embryonic stem cells.

The halt was ordered after Geron shared data from dose escalation studies in animals with the Food and Drug Administration, the company said. The therapy is meant to restore movement to paralyzed people by injecting nerve cells made from embryonic stem cells to the site of the injury.

In January, the F.D.A. lifted a delay on the clinical trial from May 2008. The action on Tuesday was probably based on safety concerns that emerged from the new higher-dose data the company had submitted, said Joseph Pantginis, an analyst with the Merriman Curhan Ford Group in New York.

FULL STORY

Abortion in Health Care Reform

National Right to Life Committee has recently posted a fact sheet which discusses how current health care reform bills in the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate would force taxpayers to pay for and subsidize abortions.

FULL STORY

House and Senate to Vote After Labor Day on Health Bills That Will Greatly Expand and Fund Abortion

The U.S. House and U.S. Senate are expected to vote after Labor Day on "health care reform" bills that, in their current forms, could produce the greatest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade.

Your help is needed today.

The bills are being pushed hard by President Barack Obama and by top Democratic congressional leaders. However, growing public concerns about the bills caused sufficient resistance among some factions of Democrats that the leadership was forced to abandon the original plan of having floor votes on the bills in July. The August recess provides an excellent opportunity for concerned citizens to contact their Washington lawmakers. Below are suggested action items, key messages and links to help you make a difference and save lives!

Action Items:

* Schedule an individual or small group meeting with your U.S. House Representative
* Attend a Town-Hall Meeting. Call the district office of your U.S. Senators and U.S. House Representative to find out when/if a meeting is scheduled
* Call your U.S. Senators and U.S. House Representative district offices to share your message to explicitly exclude abortion from any national health care plan
* FAX a message to the district offices of your U.S. Senators and U.S. House Representative
* Put an announcement in your church bulletin to encourage others to contact their U.S. House Representative and U.S. Senators
* Send out a message using FaceBook, Twitter, and other social networking with a link to www.rtl.org so others can be informed on abortion in proposed national health care legislation

Messages:

* No tax funding for abortion in any national health care program
* Abortion must be explicitly excluded from national health care
* Abortion is not health care

Some say abortion is not part of the national health care plan, however, it is important to note that many attempts were made in committee meetings to explicitly exclude abortion with amendments. Every amendment to explicitly exclude abortion from national health care was defeated in committee.

Key Links:

* Congressional Contact Information
* Suggestions for letters to the editor and on-line posts are available
* Sign On-Line Petition
* Print and distribute this Action Alert to let others know about national health care reform plans. Perfect for fairs and churches

Follow Right to Life of Michigan on FaceBook, MySpace or Twitter.

Abortions increase in Michigan

The Michigan Department of Community Health recently released Michigan’s 2008 abortion statistics. The statistics show that the number of abortions performed in Michigan rose 5.2% to a total of 25,970 induced abortions. While the information is disappointing because of the increase in the number of abortions performed in Michigan, the data is not surprising. Michigan has been hit hard economically which makes a decision for life more challenging for mothers experiencing an untimely pregnancy.

The increase in the number of abortions performed on residents of Wayne and Oakland county was dramatic , totaling more than the increase for the state as a whole. The number of abortions performed on black women also increased disproportionately. The percentage of abortions performed on black women was 45.4% (it was 41.9% in 2007) even though the American Community Survey estimates that only 14.1% of Michigan’s population is Black or African-American.

The death of one woman from abortion was recorded as an immediate complication.

A summary of the statistics along with links to other statistics is available online here.

House and Senate to Vote After Labor Day on Health Bills That Will Greatly Expand and Fund Abortion

The U.S. House and U.S. Senate are expected to vote after Labor Day on "health care reform" bills that, in their current forms, could produce the greatest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade.

The bills are being pushed hard by President Obama and by top Democratic congressional leaders, including pro-abortion House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.). However, growing public concerns about the bills caused sufficient resistance among some factions of Democrats that the leadership was forced to abandon the original plan of having floor votes on the bills in July. The August recess provides an excellent opportunity for concerned citizens to express themselves to their senators and House members while the lawmakers are back home taking the pulse of public opinion.

No congressional Republican has yet endorsed the bills being pushed by the White House in either the House or the Senate. The Democrats, who hold about 60 percent of the seats in both houses of Congress, are divided, with some Democrats opposed, either because of the pro-abortion provisions or for other reasons, and many others undecided or uncertain.

In the U.S. Senate, the White House is backing a bill (as yet unnumbered) sponsored by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Ma.), which was approved on July 15 by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on a 13-10 party line vote. The committee voted down all pro-life amendments, including an amendment offered by pro-life Senator Tom Coburn (R-Ok.) to prevent health care providers from being penalized for refusing to participate in providing abortions.

"The Kennedy bill would result in the greatest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade," said NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson. "It would result in federally mandated coverage of abortion by nearly all health plans, federally mandated recruitment of abortionists by local health networks, and nullification of many state abortion laws. It would also result in federal funding of abortion on a massive scale."

In the U.S. House, the White House is behind H.R. 3200, which has been approved by three different committees. All three committees voted down amendments to prevent the bills from mandating coverage of abortions and to prevent federal subsidies for abortions, as only a few Democrats joined the minority Republican members in support of the amendments.

On the third panel, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the pro-abortion side narrowly won adoption of a "phony compromise" amendment offered by Rep. Lois Capps (D-Ca.) (who has a zero percent career prolife voting record) that would result in elective abortions being covered under the government-operated "public plan" the bill would create, and would allow federal subsidies to flow to private insurance plans that cover elective abortions. The pro-abortion members of the committee voted down an amendment offered by Reps. Bart Stupak (D-Mi.) and Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) to prohibit federal subsidies from going to plans that cover elective abortions.

"The adoption of the pro-abortion Capps Amendment, and the rejection of the prolife Stupak-Pitts amendment, underscores that H.R. 3200 would drastically change federal policy, channeling massive new federal subsidies to health plans that pay for abortion on demand, including a national plan that will be offered by the federal government," said NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson. "This is Condition Red for the pro-life movement. Every pro-life American should communicate, loudly and clearly, his or her opposition to this Obama-backed bill, before it comes to the House floor in September."

ACTION ITEMS

Please take a few minutes to TELEPHONE the offices of your two U.S. senators, give your name and address, and tell the senators' staff persons that you wish to be recorded with the message "abortion and abortion funding must be explicitly excluded from any health care/insurance reform legislation." The offices of any U.S. senator can be reached through 202-224-3121. Also, please TELEPHONE the office of your U.S. House member, give your name and address, and inform the staff person that you wish to be recorded with the message "abortion and abortion funding must be explicitly excluded from any health care/insurance reform legislation." You can reach any U.S. House member's office through 202-225-3121. Town Hall type of meetings may be scheduled in your area. Watch your newspapers for dates and times. Attend these meetings and let your voice be heard with the message noted above.

Also, please send short letters to the "letters to the editor" features of your local newspapers, in order to alert your fellow prolife citizens to the sweeping pro-abortion mandates and pro-abortion subsidies that the Obama White House and the pro-abortion lobby are trying to smuggle into law through "health care reform."

Please share this information with two or three friends or family members and ask them to share it with others.

Efforts in committee to exclude abortion from health care fail

In an attempt to make certain that abortion was explicitly excluded from health care reform, members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee including Michigan’s Bart Stupak put forward an amendment known as the Stupak-Pitts amendment. The Stupak-Pitts amendment would prevent the public health care option from funding abortion. On July 30, this amendment passed 31-27 but after a re-vote the amendment failed 30-29.

Efforts will now be made to insert amendments to exclude abortion from health care reform on the House floor after the August recess.

FULL STORY

More than 13 million abortions a year in China

According to the China Daily newspaper there are at least 13 million surgical abortions performed in China every year. In previous years, the Alan Guttmacher Institute estimated there were 9 million annual abortions in China. According to expert Therese Hesketh who has studied family planning policies in China, abortions in China,

are "completely non-taboo, almost a form of contraception really," she said.

The Madian Gynecological Hospital in Beijing said the cost for a surgical abortion at their facility was between 300 to 400 yuan ($44-$59) and patients were not required to leave their name or identification number.

Whereas women in other countries might go ahead with an unplanned pregnancy, Hesketh said, the one-child policy has also made Chinese women "very choosy about when they want to have a baby."

"They want to control it, want to have the baby when it's convenient, like when they have enough money or have a big enough home, and if it's an inconvenient time, they won't go through with it," she said.

Rabbi's Ride for Life

Over the last eight years, Rabbi Glenn Harris has combined two of his passions, bikes and babies, to help raise approximately $35,000 for a local pregnancy care center. Since 2002, he’s been taking an annual trip on his motorcycle to various destinations and urging others to support him in his efforts to help women in unplanned pregnancies choose life for their unborn children.

In his latest journey, Rabbi Harris and five of his fellow bikers rode their motorcycles from his home in Birmingham and traveled around the lower peninsula’s lengthy and scenic shoreline returning home after 5 days and 1,150 miles. Using their connections with friends, family, congregation members and fellow bikers to get pledges, they were able to raise around $5,500 this year for the Care Net Pregnancy Information Center of Berkeley.

Right to Life of Michigan works with more than 100 pregnancy centers throughout Michigan to help ensure that women in unplanned pregnancies know that abortion isn’t their only choice. Right to Life of Michigan also reaches out to teens through advertisements on the popular search engine Google in the hopes of connecting them with the life-affirming web site www.teenbreaks.com.

Rabbi Harris encourages other prolifers to think of ways to use activities they’re already involved in to help the prolife cause by writing, “Anyone can do this. All it takes is a little imagination and a little faith in a very big God. The word of God (I Corinthians 10:31) urges us to glorify God in all of our activities. If there's something you already enjoy doing, why not find a way to direct it to God's glory and to the benefit of other people?”

Prolife Michigan Democrat Leading Efforts to Keep Abortion Out of Health Care Reform

For years, Bart Stupak (D-MI) has been a leading voice for life in the Democratic Party. He’s co-sponsored various prolife legislative efforts including attempts to ban human cloning on the federal level.

Now he is leading the efforts of prolife Democrats in Congress to keep abortion out of health care reform legislation. He, along with other prolife Democrats, is currently pushing Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives to add language which guarantees that insurance companies won’t be forced to cover abortions, tax funds won’t be used for abortions and that prolife state laws will remain intact.

"I think if they do not have [the language] in there and President Obama says we are going to have a bill with nothing in there on abortion, I think it is going to backfire. I think we bring down the rule and it will be explicitly discussed in the health care plan one way or another," Stupak told Washington Unplugged's Michelle Levi after a press conference with Republican collegues on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

Stupak told CBS News that he feels confident that "a minimum of thirty nine" democrats would join him in opposing the legislation proposed by House leaders should the abortion language not be written in.

"If there is not direct language and we are denied our ammendment we will focus our attention on the rule," Stupak warned.

"I am optimistic that we will get an ammendment," in the House Energy and Commerce committee which has recessed their mark up of the health care bill in question, the congressman said. However, should the bill leave the committee without banning the use of federal money for abortions Stupak and his collegues will "demand" a house floor vote on the specific issue.

FULL STORY

Obama’s Budget Director Won’t Rule Out Health Care Bill Paying for Abortions

On Sunday, the White House Budget Director Peter Orszag told Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace that he wasn’t prepared to rule out abortions being funded by tax payers in the health care reform bill working its way through Congress.

On Sunday, Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag was asked if in the taxpayer dollars would not fund abortions in the government-funded, public health insurance plan President Obama is proposing.

"I think that that will wind up being part of the debate," Orszag said on Fox News Sunday. "I am not prepared to say explicitly that right now. It's obviously a controversial issue, and it's one of the questions that is playing out in this debate….I'm not prepared to rule it out.

FULL STORY

Your Action Can Save Lives

Today go on record that you oppose abortion in health care reform. The message is: Abortion and abortion funding must be "explicitly excluded" from any health care/insurance reform legislation.

The U.S. Senate and U.S. House committees are presently working on health care reform packages including various amendments that will directly affect both abortion and rationing of health care. National proabortion groups see this legislation as an opportunity to mandate abortion and abortion funding. They will not need to pass the Freedom of Choice Act if they get vague wording inserted, (i.e. reproductive health services, family planning services, comprehensive health services) into the bills and if an appointed national health advisory board is part of the packages.

In addition, Planned Parenthood, the number one abortion provider in the United States, could reap millions of tax dollars from any bill that creates federally funded community women health clinics.

What are the ramifications if abortion is not explicitly excluded from health care/insurance reform?

- forced coverage of abortion by all health care plans

- nullification of state abortion laws and commonsense regulations protecting mothers and unborn children

- your tax dollars paying for abortions

- mandated establishment of abortion clinics

- elimination of conscience clause protections for doctors and health care workers

President Barack Obama and proabortion Congressional Leaders are determined to have bills passed this month before the public realizes the abortion flood gates being opened. Don't delay. Call today.

Action Item:

Call, fax and e-mail Senator Carl Levin, Senator Debbie Stabenow and your U.S. House Representative and let them know abortion and abortion funding must be "explicitly excluded " from any health care/insurance reform legislation.

Congressional Contact Information

We have no time to lose. There is no doubt your efforts to explicitly exclude abortion from health care reform will save the lives of thousands of unborn children. Please act today.

Study finds the unborn have memories

A study by researchers from the Netherlands published in the medial journal Child Development has confirmed that the unborn have memories. Using sound and vibrations, alongside of ultrasounds, the researchers discovered that unborn children have short term memory by at least 30 weeks of gestation.

On five occasions during the last eight weeks of their pregnancies, the women received a series of one-second buzzes on their bellies with a "fetal vibroacoustic stimulator," a hand-held diagnostic device used to gauge an unborn baby's heart rate and general well-being.

The baby's responses - primarily eye, mouth and body movements - were closely monitored over the weeks with ultrasound imaging to gauge "fetal learning" patterns. The researchers found that the babies acclimated themselves to the sounds and vibrations to the point that they no longer bothered to respond - a process known as "habituation."

"The stimulus is then accepted as 'safe' " by the babies, the study said.

The team also found that the tiny test subjects actually improved these skills as they grew older, with those who were 34- or 36-weeks old clearly showing that they had become familiar with the hum outside the womb.

FULL STORY

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.”