Saturday, an 83-year-old woman was shot in the back while canvassing against a radical pro-infanticide bill in Lake Odessa, Michigan. Fortunately, she survived. My colleague Nick Arama covered the story; you can read it in Elderly Woman Shot in the Back While Canvassing Against Abortion Proposal.
Now we know who did the shooting, thanks to a confession. Richard Harvey and his wife, Sharon, gave an interview to WoodTV.com.
There is a degree of she-said/she-said. The volunteer is 83 and hardly threatening. Sharon Harvey says the woman refused to take no for an answer and argued with her. The wounded woman is 83 and hardly a physical threat. Anna Visser, Right to Life of Michigan Communications Director, says there have not been complaints about the woman’s canvassing in the past. I can tell you from my personal experience on pro-life picket lines (I’ll be back at Planned Parenthood this Friday as part of 40 Days for Life) that pro-life volunteers have ordered not to be confrontational. If you do get into a confrontation, it will be reported. The odds of this being the volunteer’s first time engaging in an argument while canvassing are not credible.
Sharon Harvey claims she was traumatized by an ectopic pregnancy in 1971 and was triggered at the thought a woman could off her kid (FACT CHECK: by definition, removal of an ectopic pregnancy is not an abortion because it doesn’t involve removing a fetus from the uterus).
“I told her I can’t do that and she says, ‘Well, you have to.’ I says, ‘No, I don’t. It’s not going to happen,'” Sharon Harvey said. “I told her I had a four-and-a-half month tubal pregnancy, and she says, ‘Well, you survived, didn’t you?'”
Probably more relevant than some alleged ectopic pregnancy (medical literature verifies that over 90% of ectopic pregnancies resolve themselves or require surgical intervention in the first three months, so her keeping hers for 18 weeks is highly unlikely) is that she is a hard-core leftist who loves her some abortion. Her Facebook page is still active; you can take a look for yourself.
Richard Harvey claims he was in his barn when he heard the shouting and was carrying a .22-caliber rifle when he went to investigate. From there, the account gets a little muddied. It seems that Richard Harvey fired two shots: a warning shot to deter the clipboard-armed 5-foot tall octogenarian and then a bullet into her back as she walked away. The is the account from WoodTV.com:
Richard Harvey said he came out of the barn with a .22-caliber rifle that belongs to his wife and fired a warning shot into the pine tree out front.
“She (the volunteer) is still ranting and raving and she’s got this clipboard. She’s waving it around. I’m thinking she’s going to smack Sharon with it. So without thinking, I went to club it away with the rifle and my finger was still in the trigger guard. It went off and hit her about in here,” he said, pointing to his right shoulder.
The volunteer drove herself to the police station before receiving treatment.
Your law enforcement is all over it.
Michigan State Police are investigating. Ionia County Prosecutor Kyle Butler told News 8 Monday that he’s waiting for police reports before deciding on whether to file charges.
Let’s review the bidding. Richard Harvey confronts an elderly woman. He has a rifle; she has a clipboard. She is not alleged to have attacked either of the Harveys with her “weapon.” Richard Harvey says he fired one “warning shot” into a tree. He then pointed the rifle at the old lady, and “it went off.” The round struck her in the back. And the police do jack sh**. They are investigating. The statements by Richard Harvey are an admission to brandishing a firearm (felonious assault in Michigan under most circumstances), firing a warning shot (possibly another instance of felonious assault absent a threat of death or serious bodily injury), and then he shot her in the back. There is no evidence that Harvey called the police to report the incident, so he clearly didn’t feel he had been attacked and didn’t care if his victim bled out in her car.
And the police are investigating? So what are they waiting for to charge Harvey? A confession to a television news crew?