...on the Right to Life

On Memorial Day 2008, after marching in the parade and commemorating our fallen
heroes at a moving ceremony at the Portage War memorial, we went home to spend time
with family. It was a great day. Part of what made it so special was the opportunity
we had to be with some of our kids - our youngest daughter, her husband and their
little boy. Connor Aidan, our grandson is a real reflection of his proud daddy;
he looks like an Irishman! He has bright red hair and sparkling blue eyes.  He is
only 20 months old and just recently learned how to walk. He is a treasure.

Connor, a beautiful and "normal" healthy boy, had a rough start. He was six weeks
premature and weighed just over 3 pounds when he was born. Erin and I flew down
to Orlando immediately upon hearing the news of his emergency birth. It was "touch
and go" for a few days, but he was a tough little boy and rallied quickly.  Erin
 and I were able to hold him briefly before we had to head back home.

I tell you this story because as this week unfolds the House of Representatives
is still sitting on a bill that would prohibit the heinous practice of partial birth
abortion. Senate Bill 776 was passed in the Senate on January 22, 2008 and sent
to the House. Ever since, the "pro-life", Right-to-Life-of-Michigan endorsed Speaker
of the House has kept this bill bottled up, first in committee, then on the House
floor. He has refused to allow the full House to vote this bill up or down. 

It escapes my comprehension as to how he could, in good conscience, do this.
Partial-birth abortion, where a fully developed unborn child is pulled from his
mother's womb, feet first up to the head, only to have his skull punctured so that
he is delivered dead, is a procedure that the overwhelming majority of Michigan
residents oppose. They think it is unconscionable, immoral and in violation of the
spirit if not the very words of the Constitution. Partial-birth abortion is opposed
by a nearly veto-proof majority of the State House of Representatives; at least
67 members would vote to ban it. And yet, Speaker Dillon will not allow this bill
to be voted on.

When I think that my little grandson, with his carrot-topped, blue-eyed, cherubic
face, could have been snuffed out by a doctor with a sharp pair of scissors, it
defies my sense of logic.  Is this not the United States of America, a country founded
upon the belief in the "right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"?
Speaker Dillon, please do what is right for this state. Use your leadership position
to make a meaningful statement about how much YOU value human life and the Constituion.
Put this bill up for a vote.