President’s Message: Prolife People Impact Michigan

Petitions, petitions, petitions: blank ones have been flying out of our state offices being delivered or mailed throughout the state. In the short period of eight days, Right to Life of Michigan staff traveled the state holding training sessions for “The People’s Override.” In 15 different cities, over a thousand volunteers were instructed on this citizens’ initiation of legislation. These dedicated prolifers braved freezing temperatures and snowy weather to learn how they could become a part of enacting the Legal Birth Definition Act. They are now spreading out and training additional volunteers within their communities.

Why is all of this activity needed? Last fall the state legislature passed, with both Democrats and Republicans voting for it, a bill called the Legal Birth Definition Act which would have banned grisly partial birth abortions by declaring that if any intact part of that partially born baby is outside the mother that baby is entitled to legal protection.

Then Governor Granholm vetoed that bill, and we were one vote short of being able to override that veto in the legislature. When we knew that there were not the votes to override the Governor’s veto, Right to Life of Michigan moved ahead with the legal work necessary to form a committee to accomplish our goal in a different way. Our legal committee is called “Standing Together To Oppose Partial-birth-abortion” (STTOP). But you will also hear it referred to as “The People’s Override.”

The Michigan Constitution allows citizens to introduce legislation if they collect enough signatures of registered voters in a required amount of time and get the approval of a majority of the state legislators. The governor then is stripped of her veto power: the ink is drained from her veto pen. Plus, because the people initiated the bill, once it is approved by the legislature, the law does not go on the ballot.

For the next several months our priority will be “The People’s Override,” this citizens’ movement. Our goal is to collect a minimum of 325,000 signatures in 180 days or less. Recently, I came across this quotation that was describing another movement, but it reminds me of what we are doing together.

“I always feel the movement is a sort of mosaic. Each of us puts in one little stone, and then you get a great mosaic at the end.”

Through your efforts, each signature is like that little stone, or glittering jewel, that will build a law that will strive to protect babies who are already partially born. This signature/petition drive will send a message that there are certain things that just ought not to be, and partial birth abortion is one of them. No matter how long it takes, no matter how many legislative or court battles, we will protect partially born children with or without our governor.
I thank you for being a part of our efforts and working to gather those signatures, those little stones or glittering jewels, that will build a beautiful mosaic, sending a message of determination, of commitment, of sacrifice for the weakest and most innocent among us, the babe in the womb.

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