LIFESPAN OAKLAND/MACOMB REPRESENTATIVE MEMO: JULY 2019
Hi All
Every day I have been singing “Rain, rain, go away…” but it is not listening!!!
Thanks to all who offered candy on Father’s Day. We sure have a lot of dads who have a sweet tooth because we only got 3 boxes of candy back out or 86 ordered!!!!! Good job everyone. Maybe more churches will want to join in next year.
I am going to include a statement of LIFESPAN’s support of the dismemberment abortion ban in this memo and attach a copy as well. Please read it carefully and if you have any questions give me a call. We will have petitions as soon as they are printed. Attached you will also find a short piece on Michigan law, explaining how a petition drive works.
Lynn will be contacting your youth ministers with information on the next “Be the Change”program we will be offering for our young people (February). Our guest speaker will be Ryan Bomberger from the Radiance Foundation—he is a terrific speaker and we are trying to arrange an evening presentation for adults.
Summer slows down a little but keep in mind that Christmas cards (yes—Christmas!!) will start up in September as well as registration for the Washington DC bus trip.
We are also seeking anyone who is interested to help us plan our 50th Anniversary Dinner on May 5th. We need ideas, suggestions and helpers. Please consider being part of the planning committee. Remember, the more helpers the less work for everyone!!
Here come the two articles I mentioned above. Please feel free to circulate.
Number 1
At this time, the Board of Directors of Right to Life-LIFESPAN will support the Citizen’s Initiative Petition being circulated to ban dismemberment abortions in the State of Michigan.
In 2003, again by way of an Citizen’ Initiative Petition, the State of Michigan banned what is known as Partial Birth Abortion in which all but the living infant’s head is delivered, intact, from the woman’s body and a sharp instrument is inserted into the back of the baby’s neck, into the brain, causing death. (The ban was found constitutional by the US Supreme Court in 2007 Gonzales v Carhart) When this procedure was disallowed, abortion practitioners began using dismemberment abortions to bring about the child’s death. Instead of partially delivering the living baby’s body, medical instruments are inserted into the woman’s uterus and the baby’s limbs are cut from his/her body and brought out of the uterus, piece by piece. This procedure also provides intact fetal body parts, much sought after for research purposes. It is this procedure that the dismemberment ban petition is intended to prohibit.
Our Michigan legislature has already passed such a ban, and the current governor has promised to veto this and any other measure that restricts abortion practice in our state. The goal of the Initiative Petition drive is to secure a sufficient number of signatures to bring the issue back directly to our legislature where a simple majority vote by the legislators on the measure will again ban this procedure. The language cannot be changed or amended and must be voted on as presented. Assuming our Michigan legislators will again approve the ban; it then becomes law and cannot be vetoed by the governor. Should the legislature choose not to vote on the measure, it then goes onto the November ballot for a vote of the citizens of the State of Michigan.
Number 2
A LITTLE HISTORY
The following article is excerpted from an article that appeared in the Saint Clair County Right to Life Newsletter, June, 2019 (issue 29 no 2)
MICHIGAN LAW AND BALLOT INITIATIVES
‘Like most criminal laws, laws against abortion are enacted and enforced at the state level. Michigan’s laws banning abortion date back to 1846, which made us one of the leading states in protecting women and children. Regardless of what you may hear in the media, Michigan law does not and has never penalized a woman from procuring an abortion. Like most abortion bans, the law focuses strictly on the party performing the abortion—i.e. the abortionist.
There have been attempts to overturn Michigan’s abortion laws, the most recent being in 1972 when an initiative was put on the ballot to “liberalize” the laws;. To the surprise of many, Michigan citizens turned down this initiative, which meant that our laws against abortion remained in place—for about eleven weeks.
In January 1973, the U.S Supreme Court handed down their infamous Roe vs Wade and Doe vs Bolton decisions, which effectively rendered null all laws restricting abortion in all states. This decision did not remove the state laws from the books, but meant they could not be enforced. This distinction is important—it means that all the (Michigan) state laws are still in place and if those two decisions are ever weakened or overturned, the state laws could again be enforced, provided there are no later laws that introduce conflicts or confusion.’
Michigan law provides a mechanism for our citizens to directly initiate laws by way of a ballot proposal or initiative petition whereby petitions, written in language approved by the Board of Canvassers, are circulated to the citizens and if the required numbers of signatures are obtained, the measure goes to our Michigan House and Senate. The legislators can vote to approve the measure, reject the measure or not vote on it at all. If they approve the measure, as presented, it becomes law and cannot be changed or vetoed by the governor. If they do nothing, the measure goes to the next general election for a vote of all the citizens in Michigan.
Our Michigan legislature had already voted to ban dismemberment abortions, which the governor has promised to veto. The goal of the dismemberment ban petition is to obtain the required number of signatures and present the measure to our Michigan legislature once again, where it is hoped they will once more vote to ban the procedure.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call the office. 248-816-1546 Diane and Lynn
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