Prolife Omnibus Act
(Reforming Michigan Abortion Practices)
P.A. 499 of 2012 Previously introduced bills incorporated into the omnibus bill: |
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Current Status Description
An original 5-bill package regarding coerced abortion included amendments to the Penal Code (HB 4799), Code of Criminal Procedure (HB 4798, penalties & sentencing) and HB 5181 authorizing a specific cause of action (lawsuit) for coercing abortion, however, those bills were stripped from the omnibus and later passed as stand-alone bills to complete our Coercive Abortion Prevention Act. Additional bills to require abortionists to have medical malpractice insurance and to ban abortions on pain-capable unborn children were also originally included in the omnibus bill but ultimately not included in the final version. History On the final day of the legislative session, December 14, the House removed the tie-bars of H.B. 5181 (malpractice requirement) and H.B. 4798-99 from the Senate version of H.B. 5711. The Senate agreed to remove the tie-bars, and final approval of the bill was given on December 14. Thus, only H.B. 5711 was passed and sent to the governor. The other bills that were not approved “died” at the close of the 2011-12 legislative session. The Senate Judiciary Committee took up the package of bills on July 26, 2012, and after more than 2 hours of testimony on the bill, voted 3-1 to send the bill to the full Senate. The House of Representatives voted on June 13, 2012 by a vote of 70-39 in favor of H.B. 5711, the main Prolife Bus bill. The remaining two bills (H.B 5712-5713), banning abortions after 20 weeks based on the unborn child being able to experience pain, were not taken up by the full House. The House Health Policy Committee reported out H.B. 5711-5713 by votes of 13-5 on June 7, 2012. House Bills 5711-5713 were introduced on May 31, 2012. Background In 2010, the bodies of seventeen aborted babies were found in trash bags in a dumpster used by the Woman’s Choice abortion clinic in Lansing, Michigan. An investigation revealed a deficit in Michigan law leading to a need for a humane disposal of fetal remains bill. Coercive abortion is a well-known problem among prolifers. Research from the Elliot Institute shows a majority of women feel pressured or coerced into abortion. Minors are particularly susceptible to coercion to abort, as are women in abusive relationships. Sex traffickers and rapists depend on abortion to hide their crimes and turn to force and coercion when their victims become pregnant. As long as abortion is legal and culturally accepted, there will be women coerced into abortion. Screening for signs of coercion to abort won’t stop the practice, but it may help some women and it will provide women with legal tools to hold those who’ve coerced them accountable. |