Michigan senators address partial-birth abortions

The Michigan Senate passed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act by a 24-13 vote on January 22, 2008, the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the two U.S. Supreme Court decisions which legalized abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Cameron Brown, would make it a felony to perform a partial-birth abortion, unless the mother's life is endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness or physical injury. Sen. Brown said that banning the barbaric procedure, which involves partially delivering the baby and then stabbing the baby's head and suctioning out the brains, is something the vast majority of people can agree on.

"While there may be a point of division on the abortion issue, few people differ on the egregious nature of partial-birth abortions, a practice not worthy of a civilized society," Brown said.

This current attempt to ban the procedure came as a response to the Legal Birth Definition Act being ruled unconstitutional by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on June 4, 2007. This ruling was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in January to reject an appeal. Michigan's Legal Birth Definition Act became a reality only after a record-setting petition campaign allowed lawmakers to override a veto by Governor Jennifer Granholm. The Legal Birth Definition Act, which would have effectively banned partial-birth abortion, defined birth to be at the point where any portion of a child is vaginally delivered outside the mother's body.

"We want the legacy of this troubled issue to be one in which the people's voice is the enduring legacy of this Legislature," Brown said. "That voice was so strongly expressed in the petition drive of 2004 to override the Governor's veto of the previous attempt to ban partial-birth abortions."

The Michigan Partial-Birth Abortion Ban mirrors the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. That law was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Gonzales v. Carhart on April 18, 2007. "This time we're using federal language banning partial-birth abortions that has already passed judicial muster," Brown said.

Opponents of the bill argued that since there is a federal ban, no additional laws are needed. Brown disagrees, pointing out that the state has many laws that duplicate federal laws, and the state ban is needed to commit Michigan resources to prosecute violators.

"Michigan should enact this legislation in order to provide enforcement by our attorney general and county prosecutors," he said. "The federal law is only enforced by federal attorneys who may be focused on other issues."

The ban was sent to the House Judiciary committee for consideration.

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