House passes clinic regulations

By a large majority the Michigan House of Representatives passed a three-bill package that requires abortion clinics to meet basic health and safety requirements. The bills also provides for more accurate information about abortion and the injuries it causes to women.

President of Right to Life of Michigan Barbara Listing said, "Abortion is never a safe procedure because it takes the life of an unborn child, but current substandard health environments are an additional unwarranted threat to women."

There were 68 House members who cosponsored one or more of the bills. The three lead sponsors were Clark Bisbee, Terry Geiger and William J. O'Neil.

Listing said, "House members are supporting this needed legislation because of their concern for women. That is one reason Right to Life of Michigan is also supportive of the bills."

The three bill package would require that abortion facilities that do a high-volume business be inspected for safe health conditions. The legislation will also require any physician treating a woman for a complication from an abortion to report the complication. The report will be sent to the state health department and treated in the same manner as a report of a communicable disease.

"Abortion reporting is senseless unless it's accurate. And for abortion injury reports to be accurate, all physicians must be required to report them, no matter when the complications arise. With accurate reporting coming from all physicians, we will be able to determine which abortion practitioners are running shoddy practices and repeatedly injuring women," Listing said.

The three bills will go to the Families, Mental Health and Human Service Committee in the Senate with possible action during late October or early November.