Michigan Hotel Offers Free Room to Alabama, Ohio, Georgia Women Who Travel to State for Abortion
YALE, Mich. — A hotel manager in Michigan has offered to provide lodging and transportation to abortive mothers who travel there from states where abortion restrictions have recently been passed, including Alabama, Ohio, Georgia and Missouri.
“Dear sisters that live in Alabama, Ohio, Georgia, Arkansas, Missouri, or any of the other states that follow with similar laws restricting access, we cannot do anything about the way you are being treated in your home-state. But, if you can make it to Michigan, we will support you with several nights lodging, and transportation to and from your appointment,” The Yale Hotel posted to social media on May 16.
The hotel is managed by Shelley O’Brien, a 55-year-old mother of three and grandmother to seven.
She told the Detroit Free Press on Friday that after hearing about the various laws being passed, she thought of the Underground Railroad — a network of safe houses that would help African American slaves secretly travel north to freedom. O’Brien said she wanted to do something similar for women who wanted an abortion.
“This is my line. There’s no coming back from this. You start taking away the right for women to control their own bodies, and we’re done for as a civilization,” she told the outlet.
O’Brien stated that she wanted to offer free lodging and transportation because the cost of travel, and the abortion itself, are expensive in and of themselves.
“Between gas and lodging, you’re looking at probably $300 or $400 that you’re going to put out on top of the cost of abortion,” she outlined. “And if you’re having an abortion because you have no way to provide for a baby, then how are you going to drum up $1,000 or $1,500 to do it? If I can help at all in that, it satisfies the social worker in me.”
The post has generated mixed reaction, with more than 2,000 clicking the “love” emoticon on Facebook, and over 150 clicking either the “sad” or “angry” emoticon.
“Thank you for taking a stand for women. We need more people and businesses who aren’t afraid to speak up for what is right, even when it isn’t popular,” one commenter wrote.
“This is amazing. Thank you for being the light in this dark world!” another opined.
“I don’t know how you can support killing babies. What if your mom had not chosen you? Think about it. I miscarried at 8 weeks 6 years ago. Was [the] person in my body a baby? Yes it was,” a third declared. “This is an embarrassment to Michigan. You should not be proud of yourself for helping women murder their children. It’s a sad day when women want to stay in your hotel so they can murder their children.”
One woman offered to adopt the children who would otherwise be aborted.
“For the record, 2 of my children are adopted. If you are pregnant and need help, come stay with me during your short 9 months and I will adopt your child,” she wrote.
O’Brien said that she is calling the room “Jane’s Room,” named after the Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade, Norma McCorvey.
However, as previously reported, McCorvey later became a vocal pro-life advocate and fought to have the Supreme Court decision overturned. In her 1994 book “I Am Roe,” McCorvey admitted that she made up the rape story at the advice of her feminist attorneys to make her efforts more convincing, and said that she never attended any of the court proceedings.
“It’s not your body [and] it’s not your choice, because you got that [baby] from God. He gave that to you,” she wrote.
“My decisions were wrong and I am fighting with every breath to change what has occurred,” McCorvey also said in 2008.
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