As Abortion Bans Increase, Michigan Hotel Offers Free Rooms To Women Needing To Travel For Services

As an increasing number of states introduce and pass legislation to ban or restrict abortion, a hotel manager in Yale, Mich., population 2000, has offered free accommodations to women needing to leave their home state to receive the procedure.

Shelley O’Brien, manager of the Yale Hotel, posted the offer on the hotel’s Facebook page on May 16.

“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,” the post read.

“But if you can make it to Michigan, we will support you with several nights lodging, and transportation to and from your appointment,” the post continued.

O’Brien, a mother of three, said, “Women should have autonomy over their own bodies. If we do not have control over our own bodies, then this is not a free world.”

While response to the post has been mostly positive, O’Brien’s offer may not stand for long, given the Michigan legislature is considering seven anti-abortion bills introduced this year. One senate bill would ban abortion after 20 weeks, and impose sanctions of up to 15 years in prison for doctors performing the procedure. Two house bills and another senate bill would ban dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortions. Another bill would prohibit the state from contracting with any agency that performs abortions, while two other bills would increase reporting requirements to the state from abortion providers, including from medical examiners or others with knowledge of complications a woman experienced after having an abortion.

So far, O’Brien told CNN, no one has taken her up on the offer, though she keeps a room ready in case anyone needs it. She named the room, “Jane’s Room,” after the pseudonym, Jane Roe, used by Norma McCovey, the plaintiff in the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, which protected a woman’s right to privacy regarding her decision to seek an abortion.

An update to the Facebook page said a number of people have offered to drive women to Michigan if they don’t have transportation, and “I learned of organizations like yellowhammerfund.org that have a network in place already to help with the many barriers to receiving safe and legal reproductive services,” the post read.

Republicans in the Michigan state Senate introduced bills earlier this week to punish doctors who perform abortions after a fetal heart beat can be detected. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has said she will veto bills that restrict abortion access, while a group called Right to Life of Michigan is working on a petition to bypass the governor’s veto.

At the same time, according to the Detroit Free Press, another six pieces of legislation have been introduced in the state legislature by abortion rights supporters to overturn a 1931 state law that made abortion illegal in Michigan. The intent of these bills is to ensure abortion remains legal in the state in the event the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.