YALE, Mich. (WWJ/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.
Yale Hotel manager Shelley O'Brien offered 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.
"I had saw on Facebook women putting out their couches and offering their spare bedrooms to women that needed to go up from out of state and I thought, 'Well, I could do better than that,'" O'Brien said.
O'Brien says she was inspired by recent legislation in several conservative states such as Alabama and Missouri, which 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 says nobody has taken her up on the offer so far, but she has received a range of reactions.
"The negative responses were kind of a surprise to me. I didn't expect people to be as vicious," she said. "It doesn't really seem very pro-life to wish people were dead."
Anyone interested in O'Brien's offer is urged to message her on Facebook or call the hotel at 810-387-2710.