Legislative successes, one disappointment
More prolife bills become laws

Several prolife bills were passed into law during the past legislative session here in Michigan. Three bills that Right to Life of Michigan supported were passed by the House and Senate and signed by Governor Engler: the informed consent revision, the ban on “wrongful birth” lawsuits, and an adoption tax credit.

On September 15, 1999, the Informed Consent law that would require abortion clinics to provide women with information about possible complications resulting from abortion and fetal development went into effect. Abortion clinics were allowed to create Internet websites to satisfy the law’s requirements. However, RLM soon discovered that many clinics were participating in unethical behavior, such as providing women with grossly inaccurate information about fetal development and requiring down payments from women before the women had received the informed consent material.

Rep. Janet Kukuk introduced House Bill 5548, which prohibits abortion clinics from creating their own websites to comply with the law and instead, directs the Michigan Department of Community Health to create a website that provides accurate information to women considering abortion. This website will allow women to remain anonymous but will have a confirmation slip women will print to show their doctor they have viewed the necessary information. The law also prohibits abortion clinics from charging down payments prior to the expiration of the 24-hour waiting period.

The House of Representatives considered the bill in the spring of 2000 and gave final approval to the bill on May 30, 2000, by a vote of 67-39. The Senate considered the bill in the fall, and gave approval to the bill on November 30, 2000 by a vote of 24-10. Governor Engler signed the bill into law on December 31, 2000. The law will take effect on March 27, 2001, giving the Department of Community Health time to activate its official informed consent website.

Senator Bill Van Regenmorter introduced Senate Bill 1170 to bar lawsuits for “wrongful birth” claims. This bill disallows lawsuits in which the parents of a disabled child sue the doctor who failed to discover the disability prenatally. They claim that the doctor took away their opportunity to abort the disabled child, which they would have done had they known about the disability. These lawsuits are an insult to the value and dignity of the lives of the disabled members of our community.

The Senate Judiciary Committee considered, amended and approved S.B. 1170 on May 16, 2000. The Senate approved S.B. 1170 by a 27-10 vote on June 1, 2000. The House Family & Civil Law Committee approved S.B. 1170 on November 30, 2000. The House gave final approval to the bill on December 5, 2000, by a vote of 66-33. Governor Engler signed the bill into law on December 31, 2000. Beginning March 28, 2001, lawsuits will no longer be allowed under the premise of a “wrongful birth.”

Representatives Gary Woronchak and Mickey Switalski introduced House Bills 4812 and 4852 to amend the tax code to allow for credits for adoption expenses incurred beginning in 2001. The House unanimously approved the bills on October 28, 1999, and the Senate Finance Committee approved the bills on December 5, 2000. After receiving assurances that the governor would sign the bills, the full Senate approved the bills on December 14, 2000. Governor Engler signed H.B. 4812 and H.B. 4852 into law on January 8, 2001.

Right to Life of Michigan also faced some challenges last session regarding the abortion-free insurance package that did not quite make it into law. The three-bill package H.B. 4828, S.B. 645, and S.B. 794 would have removed abortion coverage from standard insurance plans and required employers and unions to purchase an abortion rider and inform their employees if they desired to keep the abortion coverage. These bills were passed by both the Senate and the House at the end of the 2000 session. They were sent to Governor Engler for his signature.

The last day that the governor could sign the bills into law, January 9, 2001, Governor Engler chose not to sign the bills. This action is called a “pocket veto” and effectively kills the legislation. The governor expressed concerns about the legislation, but also expressed a desire to work on the areas of his concern. Governor Engler has been our ally throughout his governorship and has signed many prolife bills into law over the past 10 years. The sponsors are planning to re-introduce these bills after working with the governor’s office to address his concerns.

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