Michigan right to life group meets petition goal

Home City News Michigan right to life group meets petition goal

On Sept. 30, pro-life advocates concluded their statewide effort to collect signatures from citizens who opposed a national healthcare provision that uses tax dollars to fund abortions.

“People should be able to make a choice. Some taxpayers don’t want to subsidize abortion,” said Pam Sherstad, director of public information at Michigan Right to Life.

The Affordable Care Act, set to take effect Jan. 1, 2014, provides each state an opt-out option, which would not include abortion in its mandatory health insurance policy. Twenty-two states have blocked abortion coverage in their respective healthcare exchanges.

“We have good assurance that this legislation will pass in Michigan,” Sherstad said.

Both the Michigan Senate and House already voted to approve the opt-out legislation earlier this year, but Governor Snyder vetoed it.

“The governor sent us a letter,” Sherstad said. “He felt that abortion should be legal in the case of rape and incest and should be covered.”

Up until the Monday deadline, Individual counties gathered signatures throughout the weekend.

Hillsdale County aimed for a goal 2,500 signatures.

“As of Sept. 24, we had about 62 percent of that goal and will continue working very hard to make it,” said Bud Beer, Hillsdale’s Right to Life president.

Students For Life has collected signatures in the student union to garner support from Michigan residents attending Hillsdale College.

“The petition drive has gone well. It’s easy to sign and a lot of people have. I think it has a good chance of passing,” Hillsdale senior Ben Kauffman said.

Michigan Right to Life needed 258,088 signatures for the state’s House and Senate to pass the opt-out legislation with a simple majority. Gubernatorial approval would not be required.

“We will be turning in more than that with a comfortable cushion,” Sherstad said. “Michigan is just taking care of business like so many other states are.”