LANSING, Michigan, April 25, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Pro-abortion Democrats serving on Michigan’s Families, Children, and Seniors committee were speechless after veteran pro-life activist Dr. Monica Miller gave an impassioned testimony against dismemberment abortion Wednesday at the state capitol.

During her four-minute-long remarks, Miller, the founder of Citizens for a Pro-life Society, told lawmakers about how she retrieved dismembered babies from a dumpster behind an abortion clinic on the state’s east side. These children “died a most horrific, torture method of extermination,” she said. To “dismember the unborn means that we actually dismember them from the human family. We sever them from inclusion into the human family.”

The House committee was holding hearings on bills that would expand Michigan’s partial-birth abortion ban to include dismemberment abortions, a particularly gruesome but popular form of abortion for women 24 weeks pregnant or less that involves ripping the legs and arms off a baby in the womb with spiked forceps. Dismemberment abortion is commonly known as dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortion. In prepared remarks, Miller referred to the procedure as a “barbaric action that we would not do even to an animal.” “These unborn children were literally cut to pieces,” she said.

The bills are expected to be voted on in committee next week. If they pass, they will be sent to the House Judiciary Committee and then on to the full House floor, where Republicans hold the majority. The Republican-led Senate is considering a bill to ban dismemberment abortions as well.

Active in the pro-life movement since 1976, Dr. Miller, who teaches theology at Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan, held up a photograph of an aborted, dismembered baby during her testimony, telling legislators, “If you’re going to support abortion, you should look at it.” These children were “treated as if they were no more significant than trash,” she said.

The liberals on the committee, LaTanya Garrett, Brenda Carter, and Cynthia A. Johnson, all Democrats, were hostile toward most of the other pro-life witnesses at the hearing, but sat in silence during and after Dr. Miller’s testimony, seemingly not wanting any part of challenging her. Following her remarks, Miller appeared to get up and hand-deliver copies of the photo to each of the Democratic lawmakers.

Dr. Miller has spent thousands of hours engaging in sidewalk counseling with pregnant women outside abortion clinics. She has also participated in Red Rose Rescues, which have resulted in her being sent to jail. Dr. Miller was interviewed on LifeSite’s podcast The Van Maren Show just this week, where she told host Jonathon van Maren that when you see aborted baby photos, the “veil is torn away.” She informed van Maren that she has witnessed “the awakening of souls” to the horror of abortion after showing them photos of aborted babies.

Dr. Miller was one of several witnesses who testified before the Families, Children, and Seniors committee Wednesday. Planned Parenthood and ACLU employees spoke at the hour-long gathering as well, which was chaired by State Representative Kathy Crawford (R). An emotional Rebecca Kiessling, a pro-life activist conceived in rape, voiced support for the bills, as did Rebecca Mastee of the Michigan Catholic Conference.

Other pro-life voices addressed the committee, too, but one particularly powerful testimony came from pro-life obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Donna Harrison. Harrison brought with her to the witness chair clamps and a plastic baby to demonstrate the barbarism of dismemberment abortion.

The pro-life witnesses found a supportive voice in committee members Daire Rendon (R) and Michele Hoitenga (R), who frequently agreed with their concerns and challenged the pro-abortionists who appeared before them. Watch the entire meeting by clicking here.

Michigan has become a hotbed of liberal activism in recent months. State Attorney General Dana Nessel, a lesbian feminist who has been accused of being anti-Catholic, recently announced that adoption agencies in the state will need to place foster children into the homes of “LGBT” couples if they want to receive state funding. The move prompted Bethany Christian Services, the largest Christian adoption agency in the state, to change its Michigan policy in order to serve gay couples seeking foster care adoption. The Lansing-based St. Vincent Catholic Charities is suing the attorney general on grounds that her ruling violates religious freedom laws.

Nessel is currently investigating the Michigan-based Church Militant website because the Southern Poverty Law Center characterized it as “anti-LGBT." She has also announced she won’t enforce a state abortion ban if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Additionally, Nessel has joined with 20 other state attorneys general in challenging pro-life heartbeat legislation. Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) has promised to veto pro-life laws.

State Representatives Lynn Afendoulis (R) and Pamela Hornberger (R) are co-sponsors of the bills being considered in the Michigan State House. Both have characterized dismemberment abortion as barbaric. According to MLive.com, the bills are supported by Right to Life of Michigan and the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. They are opposed by Planned Parenthood of Michigan, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Michigan section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. One thousand seven hundred seventy-seven dismemberment abortions took place in Michigan in 2017. From 2013 to 2017, the state averaged 26,200 abortions per year.

Listen to Dr. Miller’s appereance on The Van Maren Show by clicking below.

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