Pro-life volunteer, 83, shot after 'heated conversation' while canvassing Michigan neighborhood
An elderly pro-life volunteer is recovering after she was shot during an apparent dispute while canvassing a Michigan neighborhood.
The 83-year-old woman from Ionia County was passing out pamphlets on behalf of Right to Life of Michigan (RLM) on Sept. 20 when police say she was shot in the shoulder after an “alleged verbal altercation” at a home in the area.
The woman then drove herself to the Lake Odessa Police Department and reported the incident, according to Michigan State Police. She was transported to an area hospital and was later released, authorities said.
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According to a statement from RLM, the victim was shot “while leaving a residence during a heated conversation” by a man who was not involved in that conversation.
The victim does not know the identity or motive of her shooter, according to the statement.
While RLM Education Coordinator Chris Gast could not provide much additional info, he said the victim — who has been a pro-life volunteer “for a very long time” — is recovering and “in good spirits.”
“She hasn’t mentioned returning to door-to-door activities, but she was asking me about when our yard signs come in, so she’s clearly still engaged,” Gast told The Christian Post.
Michigan State Police are investigating the case and will turn over the investigation’s results to Ionia County prosecutors.
The woman was among a group of volunteers who were going door-to-door to inform residents about Proposal 3, titled “Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative,” a state measure which, if approved by voters, would allow abortion to take place up to and including the moment of birth.
By prohibiting “state discrimination” against enforcement of Proposal 3, the measure also would allow people without medical training to assist with an abortion procedure without fear of prosecution.
While Michigan law currently requires parental consent for virtually all medical procedures for underage children, Proposal 3 would allow for children as young as 12 to undergo an abortion without parental consent.
Gast said Proposal 3 would “dramatically” impact dozens of state laws.
“It would remove basic health and safety regulations from abortion clinics; it would allow minors to take hormone-blocking pills, undergo sex changes, and have abortions without notifying their parents; it would allow abortions until birth,” he said. “There’s a long list of other problems it would create.”
The Michigan attack comes as pro-life activists, pregnancy centers, and others are being increasingly targeted by abortion activists after the U.S. Supreme Court overturnedRoe v. Wade in June.
