LANSING, Michigan, May 14, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — The Republican-led Michigan State House and Senate voted to ban dismemberment abortions today.
House Bills 4320 and 4321 and Senate Bills 229 and 230 would modify the state’s existing partial-birth abortion ban to include dismemberment abortions, often referred to as dilation and evacuation abortions. Dismemberment abortion is one of the most common but also most gruesome second-trimester abortion procedures, as it involves ripping the arms and legs off an unborn baby’s body with a pair of forceps. The bills include an exception if the mother's life is in danger.
The Senate voted 22-16 in favor of both bills, while the House voted 58-51 in favor. Every Democrat voted against banning dismemberment abortions.
If signed into law by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the legislation would make dismemberment abortion a felony. However, Whitmer has previously promised to veto pro-life laws that arrive at her desk, telling Planned Parenthood last month it has a “powerful backstop in a veto from my office.”
“If she refuses to sign it, we'll find 400,000 people who will and bypass her veto!” Right to Life of Michigan vowed immediately following the vote.
Today’s vote comes at a time when top Michigan Democrats have been ramping up their attacks on pro-life, pro-family values.
In March, state Attorney General Dana Nessel, a “married” lesbian and feminist who has been accused of being anti-Catholic, announced that taxpayer-funded adoption agencies with religious objections to placing foster care children into homes of homosexual “married” couples will no longer be able to cite their faith as a legitimate reason to opt out of providing that service.
Nessel is also investigating the Michigan-based Church Militant website, a staunchly conservative Catholic organization, because the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center labeled them “anti-LGBT.”
If Roe v. Wade were to be overturned, Nessel, who has added her name to a lawsuit challenging the legality of pro-life “heartbeat” legislation, has said she wouldn't enforce a state abortion ban.
House Bills 4320 and 4321 were approved by the Michigan House Judiciary Committee with a 7-5 vote. They previously passed the House’s Families, Children, and Seniors Committee by a 5-4 margin on May 1. At that hearing, veteran pro-life activist Dr. Monica Miller, a Michigan resident, testified in support of the legislation. She also testified before the Senate.
Holding up photographs of dismembered babies to lawmakers, Miller said that the “cut-to-pieces” babies she found in trash bags in dumpsters behind abortion clinics on the state’s east side were Michigan’s “dark secret.” Democrats serving on the committee did not ask Miller any questions during or after her testimony, despite aggressively challenging other pro-life experts who appeared in support of the legislation. Footage of Miller’s powerful remarks has been viewed on YouTube more than 355,000 times.
In 2017, 1,777 dismemberment abortions took place in Michigan. Of those, 98 percent occurred in the second trimester, between 13 and 24 weeks of pregnancy. From 2013 to 2017, the state averaged 26,200 abortions per year.
Contact Gov. Whitmer on Facebook, Twitter, and on her website. Or call 517-373-3400 or 517-335-7858 (Constituent Services).