Michigan #1 for Defending Life

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Michigan had an unemployment rate of 7.2% in April of 2006. Only the state of Mississippi, which still suffers from Hurricane Katrina, had a higher rate. A study by United Van Lines found that in 2005, 63.9% of interstate moves involving people moving in or out of Michigan were individuals and families moving out of Michigan. This was the second highest percentage of all the states as only North Dakota had a higher percentage of people moving out. While Michigan’s economy has seen better days and might currently be struggling in certain areas, the state of Michigan is leading the nation in passing laws which protect human life.

The success of the prolife movement in Michigan is backed up by a large collection of evidence. One way to judge a state’s prolife success is to examine how pro-abortion organizations grade certain states. In 2006, Right to Life of Michigan is proud to say Michigan received an “F” on its report card from the pro-abortion group the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL). NARAL’s “Who Decides?” report penalizes states with a high number of effective prolife laws and gives “A’s” to states who have zero or a limited number of life-affirming laws. Thankfully, Michigan has failed NARAL’s test over and over again.

Americans United for Life (AUL) supplied another piece of evidence pointing towards Michigan’s prolife success. AUL is a prolife legal defense firm which recently released an extensive state‑by‑state review and analysis of state laws dealing with prolife issues. The report, entitled Defending Life 2006, examined legislation dealing with abortion, end of life issues, bioethics and the conscience rights of health care workers.

After analyzing the laws in all 50 states, Defending Life 2006 ranked Michigan the #1 Best State for Life. Michigan’s report card states, “Michigan clearly understands the importance of life‑affirming laws and the urgent need to prevent abuses of biotechnology. Building upon its enviable success in protecting women and the unborn from the negative consequences of abortion and criminal violence, Michigan also bans both cloning to produce children and cloning for biomedical research.”

Another way to grade success is to see what the leaders of the prolife movement have to say. National prolife leader and National Director of Priests for Life, Father Frank Pavone recently said, “Right to Life of Michigan embraces without reservation the goals of the pro‑life movement and is true to the highest pro‑life principles. Moreover, it is among the most effective groups in the nation in actually moving our society to the fulfillment of those goals.”

The hard work of Michigan prolife citizens and lawmakers has paid off in Michigan as we are leading the nation in defending the lives of the most vulnerable.