CTV News Update CTV Memo December 20, 2019 Pro- Abortion Advocates Worried About Possibilities if Roe v. Wade Overturned The Center for Reproductive Rights, and Pro-Abortion advocacy group, released an announcement late last month calling attention to the likelihood that up to 23 states have the ability to enact laws that would ban abortion if the Supreme Court ever were to overturn Roe v. Wade. On their website, they have a map of states that lists the status of each based on their stance towards abortion policies. Michigan is ranked as “Hostile”, with the Center for Reproductive Rights noting that “Michigan will likely try to prohibit abortion. Michigan has a pre-Roe ban on abortion, that if allowed to be enforced, would prohibit abortion in nearly all situations.” Abortion advocates are hoping to use this map as a tool to scare followers into action to implement more laws across the country that would remove as many restrictions as possible on abortion. It has previously been noted by CTV that the grounds for a case to challenge the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade are fertile as ever. It simply comes down to continuing to the issues on the state level at every opportunity. We continue to stand for the rights of the unborn as advocates for those without a voice. Read more here. Merry Christmas From CTV! Dear Friends of CTV, Two thousand years ago a baby was born, and His love still fills the hearts of people around the world! I have often meditated on excerpts from a 1926 sermon by Dr. James Allan Francis entitled, One Solitary Life: “Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth – His coat. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen long centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.” Thank you, God for the gift of your Son! Merry Christmas everyone!! James Muffett President, Citizens for Traditional Values Right to Life Petition Update: Signatures to Be Delivered Soon! Right to Life has recently announced that they expect to have approximately 370,000 valid signatures for their petition banning dismemberment abortion in Michigan. This number exceeds the required number of signatures by well over 25,000, creating a safe margin of error in case any are found to be invalid. They expect to deliver these signatures to the Michigan Secretary of State next week, with CTV present for the occasion. We are proud to have partnered with Right to Life over these past months as they strive to fight the injustice of dismemberment abortion.Citizens for Traditional Values would like to thank everyone who has participated in helping distribute petition forms and placed their signature on a petition. With this petition, the citizens of Michigan are letting their voices be heard by telling the legislature in Lansing to end the these horrific practices. Stay tuned to CTV for the final signature tally! Read more about the petition drive here. Amish Community Brings Lawsuit Against Lenawee County Over Religious Freedom In an an attempt to enforce environmental regulations, Lenawee County has declared 14 Amish homes to be unfit for human occupation and condemned them due to failure to comply with county health code. According to the tenants of their faith, the Amish do not use plumbing in their homes, and usually rely on hand pumps and outhouses to provide for their needs. Homes in Lenawee are required to adhere to certain standards for water and wastewater disposal, standards the county say the Amish do not meet. They say that by complying with certain standards set by the county, they would be in violation of their beliefs. The ACLU, along with another Michigan law firm, has taken up the case of the Amish community and is countersueing Lenawee County for discrimination based on religious grounds. According to the Detroit News, lawyers for the Amish have argued “if the Amish vacated their homes it would expel them from the county as it would be impossible to follow their faith and comply with the health code.” Several members of the Amish community who spoke to reporters expressed surprise about how strict county officials were treating them, and noted they had never experienced issues while residing in Hillsdale County. You can read more about the story here. Pro-Abortion Groups Propose Change to Michigan Petition Rules As Right to Life of Michigan’s signature collection period for the Dismemberment Abortion Ban comes to a close, Michigan House Democrats in Lansing quietly introduced a Joint Resolution that would change Michigan Constitutional provisions governing citizen-initiated legislation. To some, this looks like one more stall tactic to prevent a pro-life citizen initiative from becoming law. Currently, petition legislation that successfully receives enough signatures is sent to the legislature, where elected officials can adopt the proposal and immediately implement the law. If adopted, lawmakers have the ability to amend it and have done so in the past. In the previous legislative session, labor unions were upset when changes were able to be made to a prevailing wage ballot initiative that had been submitted to the legislature. If they choose to reject or ignore the citizen’s proposal, it will then be sent to voters for a statewide referendum during the next election. The proposed Joint Resolution would bypass the legislature entirely and would present the issue directly to voters at the ballot box. Initial support comes from Planned Parenthood, Mothering Justice, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, Service Employees International Union and United Steelworkers. Read more about the issue here. DONATE TO CTV Citizens for Traditional Values relies on the support of grassroots activists and concerned citizens who care about preserving, protecting, and promoting traditional values in Lansing and our local communities. Click here to donate now. Citizens for Traditional Values | PO Box 80295, Lansing, MI 48908 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | About Constant Contact Sent by [email protected] in collaboration with Try email marketing for free today!