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Man shoots 84-year-old pro-life woman

A Michigan man who shot an 84-year-old woman who was advocating against abortion has been ordered to stand trial.

Joan Jacobson, an 84-year-old volunteer, was advocating against a proposed state constitutional amendment that sought to establish a “right” to abortion. Having already been to about a dozen homes handing out literature and attempting to persuade people to oppose the amendment, she visited the home of Sharon and Richard Harvey, where, shortly after, she was shot in the shoulder by Mr Harvey.

Ms Jacobson claims that Sharon Harvey was “hostile, belligerent, and antagonistic” when she discovered what she was advocating for. After a short exchange, Ms Jacobson went to leave, but Mr Harvey fired his rifle once in a “warning shot” and then claimed to have “accidentally” shot Ms Harvey with a second shot.

Ms Jacobson was shot without any provocation.

Ms Jacobson, though, believes the shooting was intentional. She told The Daily Signal “I do think that he knew what he was doing. I think it was intentional”.

Ms Jacobson’s legal team explained “She was not threatening either Mr. Harvey or his wife, did not use her clipboard as a weapon, and was shot without any provocation. She had turned to ask Ms. Harvey to stop yelling at her, and she was shot from the side as the bullet entered the top of her right shoulder and exited out her upper back near her spine”.

“I was just in shock”, Jacobson recalled. “I said to myself, ‘Did I just get shot? Did he just shoot me?’”

“They didn’t say anything”, the 84-year-old continued. “I didn’t say anything. I just headed back to my car and tried to ascertain if I could drive … I didn’t feel lightheaded or like I was going to pass out or anything. I thought, ‘I gotta get out of here.’ I got into the car and they were standing by the sidewalk, I looked through the car window, and I had a thought that went through my mind, I thought, ‘This guy is going to shoot me again through the window of the car!’ He didn’t, and I was able to get the car started, get into gear, get on the road”.

“There was no justification for shooting Ms. Jacobson.”

A judge issued a ruling against Richard Harvey, 74, charging him with assault and careless discharge of a weapon.

David Kallman, senior legal counsel for Great Lakes Justice Center representing Ms Jacobson said “There was no justification for shooting Ms. Jacobson. Mr. Harvey admitted firing a warning shot, so he knew the gun was loaded when he pointed it at my client. If it was truly an accident, why did neither of the Harveys express any remorse or even offer to assist Ms. Jacobson or call 911 immediately after shooting her? The answer is obvious: it was not an accident and Mr. Harvey should be held accountable”.

A series of violent attacks on people and property occurred earlier this year after Roe v Wade was overturned.

Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said “Violence and intimidation against pro-lifers for attempting to persuade someone to oppose a piece of legislation is utterly unacceptable. The Harveys should be held accountable”.

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Help fight the next phase of our battles against major assisted suicide and abortion up to birth threats.

Dear reader,

We are facing two major threats in the Lords - an extreme assisted suicide Bill and an abortion up to birth amendment.

THE GOOD NEWS - OUR STRATEGY IS WORKING

At Second Reading of the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill in the House of Lords, a record number of Peers spoke, and of those who took a position, around two-thirds opposed the assisted suicide Bill. That is more than double the number who supported it.

Our side also secured a significant win, with the establishment of a dedicated Lords Select Committee to further scrutinise the Bill’s proposals – and Committee Stage has been delayed until it reports.

This momentum has been built by tens of thousands of people like you. Thanks to your hard work, Peers are receiving a very large number of emails and letters by post, making the case against the Bill. 

Thanks to your support, we have been able to mount a major campaign in Parliament, in the media and online – alongside your own efforts – to keep us on course for our goal: that this dangerous Bill never becomes law.

BUT MORE CHALLENGES LIE AHEAD

We cannot become complacent. Well-funded groups - Dignity in Dying, My Death My Decision and Humanists UK - have poured millions into pushing assisted suicide. They can see support is slipping and will fight hard to reverse that.

This is not the only fight we are facing in the House of Lords.

At the same time, the Antoniazzi abortion up to birth amendment, which passed in the House of Commons in June, is moving through the House of Lords as part of the Crime and Policing Bill.

Second Reading will take place in a matter of weeks. It will then go on to Committee and Report Stages, where we will be up against the UK’s largest abortion providers – BPAS and MSI Reproductive Choices (formerly Marie Stopes) – who are expected to lobby for even more extreme changes to our abortion laws.

If the Antoniazzi amendment becomes law, it would no longer be illegal for women to perform their own abortions for any reason – including sex-selective purposes – at any point up to and during birth.

Thousands of vulnerable lives - at the beginning and the end of life - depend on what happens next. We must do everything in our power to stop these radical proposals.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Our campaign against the Leadbeater Bill in the House of Lords is working, but the work we have already done has significantly stretched our limited resources.

We are now stepping up our efforts against the assisted suicide Bill while launching a major push to stop the abortion up to birth amendment in the Lords. 

To fight effectively on both fronts, we aim to raise £183,750 by midnight this Sunday (5 October 2025).

Every donation, large or small, will help protect lives, and UK taxpayers can add 25p to every £1 through Gift Aid at no extra cost.

Will you donate now to help protect vulnerable lives from these two major threats?

URGENT
APPEAL
to protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Help fight the next phase of our battles against major assisted suicide and abortion up to birth threats.