Michigan hotel offers free room to women seeking abortions

YALE, Mich. (AP) — A hotel manager in Michigan’s rural Thumb region is offering free lodging to women who come from states that have passed tough abortion restrictions to have the procedure.

The Detroit Free Press reports Yale Hotel manager Shelley O’Brien proffered an invitation on Facebook that includes roundtrip transportation to appointments. O’Brien, a 55-year-old mother and grandmother, says she wants to help women “maintain autonomy” over their bodies.

Several conservative states such as Alabama and Missouri have passed restrictions taking aim at the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion across the United States. Many such laws are being challenged in the courts and may not go into effect.

Michigan currently has less restrictive abortion laws.

O’Brien tells the newspaper nobody has taken her up on the offer.

___

Information from: Detroit Free Press, http://www.freep.com