Michigan State Senate Panel Approves New Partial-Birth Abortion Ban

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jan 17, 2008   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Michigan State Senate Panel Approves New Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 17,
2008

Lansing, MI (LifeNews.com) — A Michigan Senate panel has approved a new ban on partial-birth abortions after the Supreme Court declined to hear a case concerning the old one. The new ban mirrors the language of the federal partial-birth abortion and will help local officials enforce it to ensure abortion practitioners don’t use the gruesome method.

The full Senate is expected to debate and vote on the new ban next Tuesday, the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.

The Senate Health Policy Committee approved the bill on Wednesday that Sen. Cameron Brown, a Republican, has sponsored.

Four Republican lawmakers backed the bill while the two Democrats on the panel were split.

The Supreme Court decided it would not revive a Michigan ban on partial-birth abortions despite a ruling last April upholding the national ban on the gruesome abortion procedure.

That Michigan ban took a different approach in banning the abortion method than the federal ban by declaring such abortions as infanticides.

Ed Rivet, legislative director for RTLM, previously told the Detroit Free Press that the new ban would have "strong bipartisan support in both chambers."

"If there’s any question, it will be what the governor might decide to do with the bill," he said, referring to Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who is pro-abortion.

Liz Boyd, spokesperson for the Democratic governor, who vetoed the 2004 state law, said she would need to see the specific legislation first.

Granholm vetoed the 2004 ban but hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents signed petitions to the legislature to have her veto overturned and state lawmakers did just that.

Kari Moss, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, told the newspaper that pro-abortion groups would oppose the bill and called the new ban "silly" because there is a federal law already in place.

"Right to Life is simply trying to rally the troops around an issue," Moss said. "They have tried and failed on three occasions. It’s time for them to stop wasting Michigan taxpayers’ money."

Pro-life groups argue state version of the national partial-birth abortion ban is necessary in case the federal law is ever reversed in court and to allow local officials to help with enforcement.

A partial-birth abortion typically involves a baby in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. The abortion practitioner partially births the child and then turns the baby around to be able to puncture her skull with scissors and kill the baby before completing the delivery process.

Related web sites:
Right to Life of Michigan – https://www.rtl.org