Sprague: Get on Board Defeating Nov. 8 Proposal 3
Jim Sprague: Proposal 3 is “dangerous and far-reaching.”The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in June to overturn Roe v. Wade hasunleashed a seismic stir to action in the pro-life camp.
Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-South Carolina) has introduced a bill that would
ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Closer to home, the Michigan Supreme Court has approved putting Proposal
3 on the November 8 ballot, which would enshrine abortion in the state
constitution if voters adopt it. Such a law would be a 180-degree turn from a
1931 law that banned abortion, except to save the life of the mother. Michigan
Court of Claims Judge Elizabeth Gleicher ruled however the Michigan
Constitution's due process clause is expansive enough to cover reproductive
rights and thus blocked that law.
It’s more direct for people like Jim Sprague.
Sprague, CEO of the Pregnancy Resource Center in Grand Rapids, writes in an email to supporters that if Proposal 3 is adopted, it would prove incredibly "dangerous and far-reaching.”
What’s at risk?
Among Sprague’s agita: human traffickers, those committing statutory rape as well as those running prostitution rings could “solve” the pregnancy problem by forcing women to have an abortion; minors could receive abortions without parental knowledge or consent; and state inspections of abortion clinics would end.
“Veterinary clinics would be more closely monitored than abortion clinics,” says Sprague. “In addition, the vet could actually become an abortion provider, as well, because in the ‘new Michigan’ abortions can be performed by any medical person.”
Whichever way the political winds blow after Nov. 8, Sprague says the services the PRC provides will still be needed and will remain intact.
Concerns
“Women are still going to be pregnant and look for alternatives to abortion,” says Sprague. “One of two things will happen with women seeking abortion, they’ll either drive to another state closet to Michigan, which would probably be Illinois, and that would be for a surgical or chemical procedure and this is a concern because women would seek a chemical or medial abortion through mail order and get the drug they need for a do-it-yourself at home abortion. My concern is they would not be under medical supervision and this is where I
think PRCs are really going to be able to help.”
Help not to get an abortion, but to shepherd them with services and life-giving advice that will bring a new life into the world, emphasizes Sprague. “We know when we start listening to them what the obstacles are when they choose life,” says Sprague. “A number of women who’ve had an abortion have said, ‘If there was just one person who supported me, it would have made all the difference in the world.’”
Holistic viewpoint
Helping women to make a pro-life decision requires a holistic viewpoint, suchas finding affordable housing, located on a bus line to get them to a job, baby supplies and emotional and spiritual support.
“I think we’ll have more of those conversations because the girl who doesn’t want to lose her volleyball scholarship can’t just go to the abortion clinic and make it go away and then deal with her physical, emotional and spiritual fallout without anybody knowing,” says Sprague. Hopefully, she will have a conversation with the PRC.”
“She should be able to know that we’re there. When she meets us and still plans an abortion, she can’t say no one cared, nobody was there for me.”
LEARN MORE
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