In a sleepy little conservative town in the Thumb where bologna is king and where Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election with nearly 65% of the vote, Shelley O’Brien took a stand.

She put out an invitation on Facebook: “Dear sisters that live in Alabama, Ohio, Georgia, Arkansas, Missouri, or any of the other states that follow with similar laws” restricting access to abortion. “We will support you with several nights lodging and transportation to and from your appointment.”

For free.

O’Brien, who runs the three-story Yale Hotel on Main Street in the city that bears the same name and is known for its annual Bologna Festival, said she couldn’t stand by and do nothing after five states — Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio and Kentucky — passed so-called fetal heartbeat laws earlier this year.

The legislation bans abortions after an embryo develops a pulse, which can be as early as the sixth week of pregnancy — so early that oftentimes women haven’t yet realized they are pregnant.

She couldn't abide Alabama's new law, either. It prohibits abortion at any time, unless a woman’s health is at serious risk. Or Missouri's abortion ban after eight weeks of pregnancy. There, only one abortion provider remains in business, and it is enmeshed in a legal fight that could shut it down.

More:Abortion poll: Most Americans oppose 'fetal heartbeat' laws, closing of all clinics in a state

O'Brien, who is 55, and a mother of three and grandmother of seven, thought of the Underground Railroad, which was used to lead slaves north to freedom. If a network like that is needed now for women seeking access to abortion, she pledged to be part of that coalition, bringing them to Michigan.

“This is important,” said O’Brien. “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.

"I can’t stop what’s happening, but I have the resources to maybe help someone in that position, and especially knowing that women are coming from other states already."

Abortion challenged in Michigan, too

Word of O'Brien's offer spread fast.

In just a few weeks, her Facebook post got shared 2,700 times and drew thousands of likes and comments. It got some disapproving remarks, too.

"I have had one person call to say that he thought it was wrong," O'Brien said. "He didn’t have Facebook, but he heard about it and he wanted to let me know that he thought what we are doing is wrong. And I’ve been called a baby killer. And it’s like, 'No, I’m not killing babies in the basement. I am just giving someone a place to stay or maybe a ride.'

"I haven’t had anybody confront me," she said. There haven't been picketers or protesters, either, outside the hotel. But she knows the opposition is out there.

Last month, Michigan's Republican-led Legislature passed tighter abortion restrictions. Lawmakers voted along party lines to ban a second-trimester abortion procedure known as dilation and evacuation. The law includes criminal sentences of two years in prison for doctors who perform the procedures.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, has pledged to veto the legislation. However, Right to Life of Michigan has said it will initiate a ballot proposal to circumvent a gubernatorial veto and outlaw the procedure.

More:Michigan group wants to ban abortions when fetal heartbeat is detected

More:Republicans in House, Senate pass anti-abortion bills after emotional debate

O'Brien said she knew her offer would be controversial, but, she said, “the only way this is going to change is if people are willing to risk something. The reason they get away with stuff like this is because nobody wants to make waves, nobody wants to give up anything for it."

Many of the so-called fetal heartbeat bills and other new, restrictive laws passed this year may never go into effect. They’re being challenged in the court system, where abortion opponents hope at least one of the cases will be heard before a now-more-conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court. Their goal is to overturn the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision that made it unconstitutional for states to ban abortion.

Availability and cost make abortion difficult

About 3% of abortions in Michigan were performed for out-of-state women in 2017, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. That's the most recent year for which data were available.

Although the number of out-of-state women who've come to Michigan in the past for abortions may be small, O'Brien anticipates that demand will grow if the restrictive new laws are enacted in other states.

“My offer extends to anybody that needs help anywhere. ... It extends to any woman that needs an abortion and this could alleviate the barriers," she said, noting that women in parts of Michigan where abortion providers are limited or nonexistent also are welcome to stay at the Yale Hotel and get help.

"I have three granddaughters, two great nieces and a lot of other women that I care about, and I don’t want any of them to die in back-alley abortions," she said. "And I don’t want any of them to ever have to proceed with a pregnancy if they don’t want to. ... People aren't perfect, and people shouldn’t have to die for their mistakes."

What surprised O'Brien was the support that poured in from other women in Michigan who offered to provide transportation for those who couldn’t get to Yale or an abortion provider without help. Some have agreed to pick up women who live out of state and drive them to Yale.

Although there isn't an abortion provider in Yale, (the nearest clinics are in Sterling Heights and Flint) O'Brien said that doesn't matter. The hotel is close enough to make staying in the tiny city of about 1,900 people an option.

"It’s expensive," said O'Brien, who has degrees in social work and public administration. "Gas is expensive. 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. 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."

Angela Vasquez-Giroux, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, said that although abortion has been legal for decades in the United States, access is still a big issue.

"There are far too many people who cannot access affordable abortion care when and where they need it," Vasquez-Giroux said. "It’s no surprise that we continue to see women helping each other get the care they need. It’s also a testament to how necessary abortion care is as a part of reproductive care: People are stepping in to expand access to care even as their elected officials go against the will of the voters by passing ban after ban after ban.”

In the first week after O'Brien's May 16 Facebook post, she said she got about a $400 boost in business. One customer wrote on her receipt: "Thank you Yale Hotel for standing up for those affected by current policy."

One-quarter of that boost was donated to the cause, she said.

"I have learned that there’s already networks in place that are helping women get access to abortions," O'Brien said. "So that I’m not taking any of the resources away from that, 25% of the proceeds I make that are directly related to this policy ... will be donated to an abortion network.

"I have donated $100 to the Yellowhammer Fund already. That helps women specifically in Alabama." Any additional funds, she said, will go to a national network.

"I think it’s important to get funds on the ground," she said.

She'll make those donations even though her old hotel is in need of renovations. The ceiling is torn out in parts of the building, and she's replacing screens, remodeling and upgrading as much as she can within her modest budget.

The bar and restaurant are on the main floor of the building. Up a set of thick wooden steps are the living quarters, where there are four overnight rooms, four apartments and two efficiencies.

O'Brien is updating a dorm-room style space to rent to cyclists who often stop at the hotel in the summertime.

Yale Hotel has a room waiting for women

No one has yet taken her up on the offer, but she said she's ready with a room specifically for women coming for abortions.

"I’ll just have that allocated so it will always be open," O'Brien said, for any woman who needs it. "If I get more than one person in need of help on a particular night, I’ll figure something out. We’ll handle it."

She's calling it Jane's Room, in honor of Jane Roe, the alias given to Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff in the Roe v. Wade case.

"I never want people to forget that is what we’re fighting about. ... We have to make sure that Roe v. Wade doesn’t get overturned and that we can maintain autonomy over our bodies."

Contact Kristen Jordan Shamus: 313-222-5997 or kshamus@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kristenshamus.