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 | 1996: An anti D&X law was passed by the legislature and signed by the governor. However, it was declared unconstitutional by the courts because it lacked an exception clause to protect the woman from a devastating health impact if she is denied a D&X procedure. | ||||||||||||||
| 1999: A second law was passed and became law. It also was ruled unconstitutional for the same reason. | ||||||||||||||
| 2003: A third law was introduced into the legislature as Senate
Bill 395. It did not criminalize D&X procedures (a.k.a. partial birth
abortion). Instead, it defined birth as occurring when any
part of a fetus emerges from a woman's body and shows signs of life. The
sponsors rationale was that once the fetus is born, it would immediately
become entitled to certain legal rights, including the right to life.
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| 2004:
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| 2005:
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"Though the ban is widely publicized as targeting late-term abortions, women’s rights groups say that the language of the Act could even be interpreted to apply to the three most common abortion procedures performed in the first and second trimesters as well as affect procedures doctors use to treat or complete a miscarriage. During practice of such methods, parts of a live embryo or fetus sometimes pass 'beyond the plane of the vaginal introitus,' rendering it 'born' under the Act’s definition, though completion of the procedures inevitably results in death to the fetus because it is not viable outside the woman’s body."
" 'The Act criminalizes a broad range of procedures and actions physicians regularly perform during virtually any common method of pre-viability abortion,' reads the complaint, 'leaving physicians to guess as to what procedures or actions are encompassed by the Act'."
"It is this ambiguity that abortion rights groups say might severely limit abortion access in Michigan, as physicians and women have no way to know if they will be safe from prosecution for almost any procedure. The result, say the plaintiffs, is that some women will be forced to travel out-of-state to seek abortions, a situation which often means the procedure is delayed and therefore more risky for the woman. Or, they say, some women could end up not obtaining an abortion at all, unable to exercise their constitutional right to terminate their own pregnancies." 4
U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood issued a temporary restraining order to delay implementation of the law until JUN-15. 6 She later extended the date until her final ruling in September.
| On APR-04, State Attorney General Mike Cox (R) released a statement saying that the Legal Birth Definition Act should be found constitutional by the courts. He disagreed with the assessment contained in the complaint. He said that the law does not ban all abortions. Cox said that here are no restrictions on "actions taken before an anatomical part of an intact, live fetus passes beyond the plane of the vaginal introitus of the mother's body." He said that the law only would ban "intact dilation and extraction" abortion -- also known as D&X -- when it is "performed on a legally born person...The physician must look to ensure the life or physical health of the mother without harming the (fetus) where medically possible. These considerations do not, however, prevent a physician from performing a procedure that may directly harm or kill the (fetus) where in the medical judgment of the physician it is necessary to safeguard the mother's life or health." Wendy Wagenheim, spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan suggested that the law should be ruled unconstitutional because it would ban all abortions and does not provide exceptions for the health of pregnant women. He said: "The legislators are interfering with the best practices of physicians who have their patients at heart...The courts are pretty clear that a woman's health is paramount, and this is just inadequate." 7 |
| On SEP-12, U.S. District Court Judge Denise Page Hood ruled that the law is unconstitutional. It places an "undue burden" on pregnant women; it is confusing and vague; its exceptions for the health or life of a mother are meaningless and unconstitutional. She wrote: "The act does not describe any specific procedure to be banned. The act also does not distinguish between induced abortion and pregnancy loss." 8,5 "Right to Life of Michigan is expected to: "...encourage Attorney General Mike Cox to appeal this decision to the U.S. sixth Circuit Court." 9 |
References used:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
- Cardinal Adam Maida, " 'We're All In This Together,' Legal Birth Definition Act 'Deserves to Become Law'," Archdiocese of Detroit, 2003-SEP-28.
- Amy Bailey, "Michigan Governor Vetoes Abortion Bill," NewsDay.com, at: http://www.newsday.com/
- "Legal Birth Definition Act," Pro-Choice Michigan, modified 2005-MAY-23, at: http://www.prochoicemichigan.org/
- Jessica Azulay, "Pro-Choice Groups Avert 'Vague' Michigan Abortion Ban, For Now," The New Standard, 2005-MAR-17, at: http://newstandardnews.net/
- Pauline Chang, " 'Legal Birth Definition Act' passes in Michigan - Pro-lifers celebrate 'people's victory," CrossMap News, 2005-JUN-11, at: http://news.crossmap.com/
- "Enforcement of Michigan's Legal Birth Definition Act Delayed Until June 15 Pending Court Challenge," Kaiser Network, 2005-MAR-16, at: http://www.kaisernetwork.org/
- "Michigan's Legal Birth Definition Act Does Not Ban All Abortions, State Attorney General Says," Kaiser Network, 2005-APR-07, at: http://www.kaisernetwork.org/
- "Judge declares Michigan abortion law illegal," Massachusetts Family Institute, E-Alert, 2005-SEP-15.
- "Legal Birth Definition Act," Right to Life of Michigan, undated, at: http://www.rtl.org/html/
Copyright © 2005 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance.
Originally posted: 2005-SEP-16
Last updated: 2005-SEP-16
Author: B.A. Robinson
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