What some of the Far Right groups in Michigan are saying about the end of Roe v Wade

As painful as it may be, it is critical that we know what the enemy is saying about the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade. I use the term enemy, since anyone who willingly choses to impose their misogynistic, racist, classist, ablest, heteronormative values on the rest of us, is an enemy. 

In the case of groups that identify as Pro-Life, who wish to control people’s bodies, calling them the enemy is appropriate. They wish to do harm to people, and not just in a legal sense. Here is what the National Right to Life Coalition had to say recently about their wishlist on how the end of Roe v Wade will be enforced:

The model legislation also makes clear that the route to enforcement should be vigilantism, following the lead of Texas’s vile Senate Bill 8. The law permits anyone to file a civil suit against any person who could be deemed to “abet” an abortion — potentially including an Uber driver who takes someone to an abortion appointment, or a therapist or pastor who has counseled a person on ending a pregnancy. The plaintiff need have no personal connection to the abortion seeker or fetus at all. The Texas law incentivizes anti-abortion crusaders to act as bounty hunters, promising $10,000 to those who bring successful suits against abortions performed in violation of the law.

Closer to home, here in Michigan, there has been lots of reactions from the Far Right after the US Supreme Court decision last week, effectively ending nearly 50 years of Roe v Wade. 

The student group Protect Life Michigan wrote on June 25th – Good morning to our post-Roe nation! Human rights are for all human beings—including the unborn—therefore we rejoice that the Supreme Court has overruled Roe v. Wade! 🎉 Yes, they included this fucking party emoji. In addition, there was this gem of a statement, you can see here on the right. Jesus take the wheel!

The Michigan Right to Life released a longer statement, which read in part:

We urge the public and pro-abortion activists to accept this decision without violence and retaliation. The overturning of Roe v. Wade was made possible by working with the legal system and following laws. We know that one day Michigan’s 1931 abortion law will be enforced again, and the unborn will be protected against ableism, sexism, and racism. We will continue to peacefully work towards this through the legal system.

The Michigan Right to Life statement on the end of Roe v Wade, included the graphic below.

Continuing on the theme of the “violence from pro-abortion activists, David Maluchnik, the vice president of communications for the Michigan Catholic Conference, was quoted as saying:

“Federal authorities have indicated to organizations across the state that there could be disruptions or other activity that is either violent in nature or efforts to vandalize property to maintain awareness that there’s the possibility for disruptions or violence or vandalism.”

It is instructive to note that Federal authorities did not make it a regular practice to send warnings to community-based clinics about potential violence from the Right to Life crowd, particularly in the 1980s and 90s, when attacks against clinics that provided abortions.

The DeVos-created and DeVos funded group, the Michigan Freedom Fund, wrote last week:

Even before the Supreme Court’s decision, violent extremists launched attacks on pregnancy centers, Right to Life offices and innocent bystanders. And Gretchen Whitmer continues to instruct her supporters to “fight like hell.”

Personally, I wish we had a political leader in Michigan who would actually call for Direct Action against organizations that are seeking to control and punish those who want to have an abortion. This is currently not the case. When people like Whitmer say, Fight Like Hell, they mean only if it is legal and within the current electoral framework.

Then there are groups like The Ridge Covenant Church, which used to be on 3 Mile Rd in Walker, but have since moved to Kent City. The pastor of this church begins his weekly video message entitled, Overturning Roe, with these words: 

Not only have we allowed the systematic slaughter of the unborn, but we have publicly funded it. While at the same time of having the audacity to claim we are the valiant defenders of human rights and women’s rights. Human beings are so precious, that they ought never to be enslaved by another. But, if one inconveniences you, in response to your own actions, then you should be able to violently rip them into pieces.

Lastly, the more highbrow religious group, the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, had three white men pontificating these sentiments on their podcast:

Why has most of the reaction been about the policy implications flowing from the decision and not what the Supreme Court actually wrote and held in Dobbs? What does that say about civics education in America right now? 

Condescending much?

Again, as painful as it is to read or listen to these words, we have to understand our enemy, in order to combat their sadistic values. Also it is critically important that we come to terms with the fact that these groups are not on the fringe of the Far Right, they are well respected, well funded groups that have significant influence in this state.