A group of Hillsdale students traveled to Lansing for an anti-abortion rally on Wednesday.
Courtesy | Katie Reid
As legislation to remove many of Michigan’s remaining abortion restrictions moves through the state legislature, Right to Life Michigan and three Republican lawmakers sued Wednesday to block the enforcement of Proposal 3.
The bills are the latest push for more access to abortion in Michigan, after Proposal 3 passed last November, amending the state constitution to include a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom.”
The state senate passed five laws on Oct. 19 that were part of a package of legislation called the Reproductive Health Act. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has supported the act and said she will “fight like hell” to protect abortion access.
Republican state Sen. Joseph Bellino, who represents Michigan’s 16th Senate District, said even though some of the most radical bills did not pass, he is still concerned with the impact the legislation will have on women.
“I’m worried about some of the other bills,” Bellino said. “The Democrats are smart. They passed what would poll well and the real egregious stuff they didn’t touch. I’m unhappy with what we have to undo when we take over control of the legislature.”
Democratic state Sen. Sarah Anthony, who represents Michigan’s 21st Senate District, told Michigan Radio that current laws are unfair to abortion clinics.
“Politicians in state capitals and courtrooms have spent many months and many years deciding what to do with my body and the bodies of women in every corner of this state and every corner of this country,” Anthony said.
The proposed legislation would remove requirements for abortion clinics to maintain the same health code as other surgical clinics, end a ban on colleges referring students for abortions, and no longer require that clinics report abortion statistics.
It would also repeal requirements for abortion clinics to have patients sign a form stating they grant written and informed consent for the abortion, a law put in place to help women avoid coerced abortions.
Pro-lifers gathered in Lansing Wednesday for an anti-abortion rally. Hillsdale students joined them, including Kathryn Reid, the president for Hillsdale College for Life.
“We mourn what is happening in our state capital, but we will never relent in our mission to speak for those whose voices have been ripped from them,” Reid said. “The most effective thing you can do is to have honest conversations with everyone around you. Most of all, find trust and hope in the redemption of Christ. It’s easy to become desolate and disheartened in the face of defeat, but no one who fights for truth and love of God fights in vain.”
Reid said she is concerned about the legislation.
“Once passed, these laws will allow abortion at any point in pregnancy for any reason signed off on by a ‘medical professional,’ a term which is vaguely defined. Sickeningly, the ban on ‘partial-birth’ abortion is also set to be struck down,” Reid said. “Most safety regulations will no longer be required for abortion, and neither will the requirement for women to receive information about the various procedures and their side effects. How can we call the lack of informed consent ‘healthcare?’”
Bellino said he was also shocked by some of the proposed bills.
“One of the bills that was passed was that abortion clinics won’t be regulated like a doctor’s office or a certain clinic or a hospital, which is beyond me,” Bellino said. “For years, they’ve been telling me abortion is healthcare, so now you are going to have healthcare without a proper certification of cleanliness.”
One bill was also proposed in the house that would have required taxpayer-funded abortions through Medicaid. That bill, and others, have stalled after Democratic representatives refused to support them.
Bryce Asberg, executive director of Hillsdale’s Helping Hands Pregnancy Resource Center, said he is concerned about the repeal of legislation meant to protect the health and safety of pregnant women.
“Women who are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy deserve loving support and compassionate care. This means medically accurate information and the highest standards of medical care,” Asberg said. “That the abortion industry is fighting so hard against informed consent and common-sense protections raises serious questions about their motives.”
Currently, there are 16 pro-abortion bills making their way through the state house and senate. If passed, the laws would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
Bellino said he thinks Whitmer is happy to take advantage of Democrats controlling the legislature.
“I feel the governor wants to run for president,” Bellino said. “So, the abortion issue and the New Green Deal are going to make her look good when she runs for president.”
Bellino said pro-lifers in Michigan should not give up hope in the face of the pro-abortion push.
“I’m 100% pro-life,” Bellino said. “But we need to change our verbiage because we are working hard, but pro-life people got our butts kicked in the last election.”
Asberg added that it is important for the pro-life movement to come together to support women.
“In the face of a state that is increasingly pushing abortion, pro-life citizens need to rededicate themselves to the cause of life,” he said. “This includes creating churches, nonprofits, and communities that will walk alongside women and families in need.”
Reid said she is very concerned with the laws that were passed.
“The laws currently being decided on by the Michigan Senate are far too extreme for any person, pro-life or pro-choice, to honestly agree with,” Reid said. “These are all laws that the pro-life movement has fought for over the last 50 years. Abortion clinics will now continue to lie about the reality of abortion.”