Lansing, MI — Today, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers approved the summary and form of the Michigan Values Life petition to ban dismemberment abortions (D&E) in Michigan.
Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said, “Our affiliates and volunteers around the state are excited we’re able to begin collecting signatures to end this barbaric procedure in Michigan.”
Michigan Values Life is the name of the committee Right to Life of Michigan organized to collect signatures to initiate the legislation into the Michigan Legislature. The legislation can be passed into law by majority votes in the Legislature with no input from Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who has promised to veto the legislation.
The dismemberment ban itself is the same as the bills passed by the Michigan House and Senate in May. A section has been added allowing the Michigan Legislature to intervene in lawsuits in case Attorney General Dana Nessel refuses to defend the law in court.
It will take a few weeks for the petitions to be printed and distributed to volunteers who have already expressed interest. State law requires signatures to be collected within 180 days. A petition order form, circulating instructions, and other materials are available on the Michigan Values Life website: michiganvalueslife.org.
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy used the term “dismemberment” to describe dilation and evacuation abortions (D&E).
In his opinion in Stenberg v. Carhart, Justice Kennedy wrote, “The fetus, in many cases, dies just as a human adult or child would: It bleeds to death as it is torn limb from limb. The fetus can be alive at the beginning of the dismemberment process and can survive for a time while its limbs are being torn off.”
The dismemberment abortion procedure is the most frequently used late-term abortion procedure. In 2018, there were 1,908 dismemberment abortions in Michigan reported to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
The dismemberment ban bills include an exception if the mother’s life is in danger. However, in published research on reasons women have abortions, the pro-abortion Alan Guttmacher Institute has stated that most late-term abortions are done for elective reasons.
For more information: Right to Life of Michigan Director of Communication/Education Chris Gast, (616) 532-2300, [email protected].
Background Information:
Dismemberment Abortion Animated Portrayal
Dismemberment Abortion Frequently Asked Questions
Michigan Abortion Statistics
Guttmacher Late-Term Abortion Study