Last week, radical Religious Right activist Janet Porter spoke at Floodgate Church in Brighton, Michigan, as part of her campaign to mobilize volunteers to help pass a version of her draconian anti-choice "heartbeat bill" in the state. A group called the Michigan Heartbeat Coalition recently launched an effort to gather 340,000 signatures, which, if successful, would allow the Republican-led legislature to pass a "heartbeat bill" without requiring the approval of the Democratic governor.
After Porter recounted her efforts to pass such a bill in her home state of Ohio, she called for volunteers to help gather signatures in Michigan and prayed over them. Then Floodgate pastor Bill Bolin took up an offering from the congregation that he suggested would be funneled to fund the Michigan Heartbeat Coalition's petition drive.
"We are going to do a spontaneous offering," Bolin announced. "We are going to take an offering for the sanctity of life. And in taking this offering—because of our regulations—we have to say we're taking an offering for the sanctity of life. Make out checks to Floodgate ... in terms of helping us in honoring the sanctity of life, and we will make sure that our offering goes toward the support of the sanctity of life in every way that we deem fit."
"And boy, am I glad that I'm a board member of Heartbeat Michigan Coalition," Bolin added with a laugh. "I know that fits within the parameters."
