Michigan House and Senate Democrats advanced several pro-abortion bills Wednesday that pro-life leaders warn could allow unborn babies to be aborted for any reason up to birth.
The Detroit News reports committees in the state House and Senate voted to pass two separate bills that would repeal a 1931 law that bans abortions. The House Judiciary Committee vote was 8-5 and Senate Health Policy Committee vote was 6-4, both along party lines.
If either bill passes, Michigan would no longer have limits on post-viability abortions either, said Right to Life of Michigan president Barbara Listing.
“The 1931 abortion law is the only abortion statute that currently regulates post-viable abortions,” Listing said. “This is an issue that transcends party politics and traditional divisions among pro-lifers and pro-abortion activists. It is in the state’s interest to protect both women and viable unborn children in the final stages of pregnancy.”
Listing said protecting unborn babies from abortion once they are viable is still allowed under Proposal 3, a pro-abortion state constitutional amendment that voters passed in November.
However, pro-abortion Democrats control the state legislature, and they claimed the 1931 law is “archaic” and must be repealed.
“Michigan voters sent a clear message in 2022 — they want the freedom to make the reproductive health care decisions that work best for them, and they want elected officials who will work toward that end,” said state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky, D-Livonia, a sponsor of the House bill.
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In the future, Pohutsky said she would like to repeal other state abortion regulations, too, including the 24-hour waiting period law and safety regulations for abortion facilities, according to the report. She said the laws “prohibit people from being able to access” abortion, especially in rural parts of the state.
Meanwhile, Right to Life of Michigan, the Michigan Catholic Conference and others are urging lawmakers to reject the extreme pro-abortion bills.
“Advocates for life from across our great state extend heartfelt appreciation to those legislators who voted no on these dangerous bills and instead stood for common-sense protections for women and children, protections fully permitted under the Michigan Constitution,” Listing said after the committee votes Wednesday.
Most parts of the 1931 law have not been in effect for more than 50 years, primarily because of Roe v. Wade. When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe last summer, Michigan abortion activists sued to block the law from going into effect, and a state court blocked the life-saving legislation.
Then, the pro-abortion movement, heavily funded by out-of-state billionaires, lobbied voters to pass a state constitutional amendment in November that declares abortion to be a “fundamental right.” These included Sam Bankman-Fried, of the former cryptocurrency company FTX, who faces numerous charges for fraud, conspiracy and unlawful political donations.
After the amendment passed, pro-life advocates warned that other abortion regulations, including parental consent for minors and a ban on late-term abortions, also could be repealed.
Currently, aborting unborn babies is legal in Michigan for any reason up to viability, and about 30,000 are aborted every year. In recent years, more people are dying in Michigan than are being born, according to a recent report from MLive journalist Taylor DesOrmeau.
