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Abortion in Michigan

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Abortion in Michigan is legal. Although a 1931 law criminalized the procedure except when the mother's life was in danger, and the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization would have allowed that law to go back into effect, on September 7, 2022, a Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled that that law violated the Michigan constitution.[1]

A constitutional amendment to explicitly guarantee abortion rights was placed on the ballot for the 2022 midterm elections as Michigan Proposal 22–3.[2] The proposal was passed by 57 percent, adding the right to abortion and contraceptive use to the Michigan constitution.[3]

Terminology

Main article: Abortion
See also: Definitions of abortion

The abortion debate most commonly relates to the "induced abortion" of a pregnancy, which is also how the term is used in a legal sense.[note 1] Some also use the term "elective abortion", which is used in relation to a claim to an unrestricted right of a woman to an abortion, whether or not she chooses to have one. The term elective abortion or voluntary abortion describes the interruption of pregnancy before viability at the request of the woman, but not for medical reasons.[4]

Anti-abortion advocates tend to use terms such as "unborn baby", "unborn child", or "pre-born child",[5][6] and see the medical terms "embryo", "zygote", and "fetus" as dehumanizing.[7][8] Both "pro-choice" and "pro-life" are examples of terms labeled as political framing: they are terms which purposely try to define their philosophies in the best possible light, while by definition attempting to describe their opposition in the worst possible light. "Pro-choice" implies that the alternative viewpoint is "anti-choice", while "pro-life" implies the alternative viewpoint is "pro-death" or "anti-life".[9] The Associated Press encourages journalists to use the terms "abortion rights" and "anti-abortion".[10]

Context

See also: Abortion in the United States

Free birth control correlates to teenage girls having a fewer pregnancies and fewer abortions. A 2014 New England Journal of Medicine study found such a link.  At the same time, a 2011 study by Center for Reproductive Rights and Ibis Reproductive Health also found that states with more abortion restrictions have higher rates of maternal death, higher rates of uninsured pregnant women, higher rates of infant and child deaths, higher rates of teen drug and alcohol abuse, and lower rates of cancer screening.[11]

According to a 2017 report from the Center for Reproductive Rights and Ibis Reproductive Health, states that tried to pass additional constraints on a women's ability to access legal abortions had fewer policies supporting women's health, maternal health and children's health.  These states also tended to resist expanding Medicaid, family leave, medical leave, and sex education in public schools.[12] According to Megan Donovan, a senior policy manager at the Guttmacher Institute, states have legislation seeking to protect a woman's right to access abortion services have the lowest rates of infant mortality in the United States.[12]

History

Legislative history

By the end of the 1800s, all states in the Union except Louisiana had therapeutic exceptions in their legislative bans on abortions.[13] In the 19th century, bans by state legislatures on abortion were about protecting the life of the mother given the number of deaths caused by abortions; state governments saw themselves as looking out for the lives of their citizens.[13] In 1932, a law was passed that made abortion illegal in the state.[14]

In 2006, the parents of Becky Bell, a girl whose death was related to the existence of parental consent rules, testified before the Michigan House of Representatives in opposition to a pending parental consent law.[15] The state was one of 23 states in 2007 to have a detailed abortion-specific informed consent requirement.[16] Michigan was the only state with a detailed informed consent statue that provided women seeking abortions on the state website with information about pregnancy relative to how far along the woman is.[17] Georgia, Michigan, Arkansas and Idaho all required in 2007 that women must be provided by an abortion clinic with the option to view an image their fetus if an ultrasound is used prior to the abortion taking place.[17] Michigan was the only state of the 23 with written informed consent materials that did not require abortion providers to give patients information about abortion alternatives.[17]

In 2013, state Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) law applied to medication induced abortions in addition to abortion clinics.[18] The state legislature was one of ten states nationwide that tried to unsuccessfully pass a fetal heartbeat bill in 2018.  Only Iowa successfully passed such a bill, but it was struck down by the courts.[19]

In May 2019, the Republican dominated state Legislature passed HB 4320-4321 and SB 229-230 which banned dilation and evacuation abortions. They specified criminal sentences of two years for anyone who performed this type of abortion procedure. The legislation passed 22–16 in the Senate and 58–51 in the House.[14] Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer promised to veto the legislation and any similar legislation attempting to ban abortions in the state.[14] As of May 14, 2019, the state prohibited abortions after the fetus was viable, generally some point between week 24 and 28. This period uses a standard defined by the US Supreme Court in 1973 with the Roe v. Wade ruling.[20]

In 2022, an activist group called Reproductive Freedom for All started a ballot initiative, which sought to enshrine the right to abortion, among other pregnancy related matters, in the Michigan Constitution.[21] On July 11, 753,759 signatures were submitted to get the proposed amendment on the ballot in the November general election.[22] The signatures were verified by the Bureau of Elections who recommended that it be included on the ballot, but the Board of State Canvassers deadlocked along party lines, preventing the initiative from moving forward.[23] The Republican members of the board claimed the initiative to be invalid due to formatting errors.[24] The matter was appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court.[23][25] On September 8, the state supreme court ruled in favor of the ballot initiative, and on the following day, a meeting of the Board of State Canvassers unanimously certified the initiative.[26] The proposal was passed 57% to 43%, adding the right to abortion and contraceptive use to the Michigan constitution.[3]

Judicial history

The US Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling meant the state could no longer regulate abortion in the first trimester.[13] However, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No. 19-1392, 597 U.S. ___ (2022) later in 2022.[27][28]

On September 7, 2022, Judge Elizabeth Gleicher invalidated a law from 1931 that criminalized abortion in Michigan unless the mother's life was in danger. From the ruling:

“A law denying safe, routine medical care not only denies women of their ability to control their bodies and their lives — it denies them of their dignity... Michigan’s Constitution forbids this violation of due process.” it "...forces a pregnant woman to forgo her reproductive choices and to instead serve as `an involuntary vessel entitled to no more respect than other forms of collectively owned property,’”

Judge Gleicher had previously issued an injunction of the 1931 law in May 2022; the Michigan Court of Appeals later ruled that it only applied to state prosecutors, but not county prosecutors.[29] Gleicher's September 2022 decision applies to both sets of prosecutors.[30]

Clinic history

Number of abortion clinics in Michigan by year
See also: Abortion clinic

Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state decreased by thirteen, going from 83 in 1982 to 70 in 1992.[31] In 2014, there were twenty abortion clinics in the state.[32] In 2014, 89% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 40% of women in the state aged 15–44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic.[33] In March 2016, there were 21 Planned Parenthood clinics in the state.[34] In 2017, there were 19 Planned Parenthood clinics, 8 of which offered abortion services, in a state with a population of 2,209,248 women aged 15–49 .[35]

Statistics

Between 1893 and 1932, there were 156 indictments and 40 convictions of women for having abortions.[13] In 1990, 1,157,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy.[31] In 2010, the state had seven publicly funded abortions, of which were seven federally funded and zero were state funded.[36] In 2013, among white women aged 15–19, there were 1,460 abortions, 1,700 abortions for black women aged 15–19, 130 abortions for Hispanic women aged 15–19, and 90 abortions for women of all other races.[37] In 2014, 54% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases while 42% believe it should be illegal in all or most cases.[38] In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births.[12] In 2017, there were 1,777 dilation and evacuation procedures among the 26,594 total abortions performed in Michigan that year.[14]

Number of reported abortions, abortion rate and percentage change in rate by geographic region and state in 1992, 1995 and 1996[39]
Census division and state Number Rate % change 1992–1996
1992 1995 1996 1992 1995 1996
East North Central 204,810 185,800 190,050 20.7 18.9 19.3 –7
Illinois 68,420 68,160 69,390 25.4 25.6 26.1 3
Indiana 15,840 14,030 14,850 12 10.6 11.2 –7
Michigan 55,580 49,370 48,780 25.2 22.6 22.3 –11
Ohio 49,520 40,940 42,870 19.5 16.2 17 –13
Wisconsin 15,450 13,300 14,160 13.6 11.6 12.3 –9
Number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions, by reporting area of residence and occurrence and by percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents, US CDC estimates
Location Residence Occurrence % obtained by

out-of-state residents

Year Ref
No. Rate^ Ratio^^ No. Rate^ Ratio^^
Michigan 26,646 14.1 233 27,629 14.6 242 4.7 2014 [40]
Michigan 26,283 14 232 27,151 14.4 240 4.2 2015 [41]
Michigan 25,572 13.6 226 26,395 14.1 233 4.0 2016 [42]
^number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44; ^^number of abortions per 1,000 live births


Illegal and unsafe abortion deaths

In the period between 1972 and 1974, the state had an illegal abortion mortality rate per million women aged 15–44 of between 0.1 and 0.9.[43] In 2005, the Detroit News reported that a 16-year-old boy beat his pregnant, under-age girlfriend with a bat at her request to abort a fetus. The young couple lived in Michigan, where parental consent is required to receive an abortion.[44][45][46]

Abortion rights views and activities

Ann Arbor Women's March in 2017

Views

Sen. Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) said during a hearing on the 2019 proposed abortion legislation, "Nearly 99% of abortions occur before 21 weeks, but when they are needed later in pregnancy, it is often in very complex circumstances, the kinds of situations where a woman and her doctor need every medical option available. [...] In fact, abortions later in pregnancy often involve rare, severe fetal abnormalities, and serious risks to women's health." Sen. Erika Geiss (D-Taylor) said during the same debate, "I can stand here and call out the hypocrisy of predominantly male legislators — most of whom, with zero medical background — who somehow decided when they took office that they are medical experts and experts of women's bodies and health care."[14]

Protests

Women from the state participated in marches supporting abortion rights as part of a #StoptheBans movement in May 2019.[47][48]

Violence

A 74 year old man shot a 84 year old woman on September 20th, 2022. She was campaigning against Michigan's Proposition 3 which would make abortion a constitutional right in the state of Michigan. She survived and she received medical treatment for her wound after driving to a nearby police department. The man claims he accidentally shot her. Prosecutors from Ionia County, Michigan later charged him on September 30th with one count of felonious assault, careless discharge of a gun causing injury and reckless use of a firearm. He has been released on $10,000 bond.

Anti-abortion activities and views

Views

The Democrats for Life of America are a group of anti-abortion Democrats on the political left who advocate for an anti-abortion plank in the Democratic Party's platform and for anti-abortion Democratic candidates. Former vice-presidential candidate Sargent Shriver, the late Robert Casey, a former two-term governor of Pennsylvania, and former Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich), a former leader of the bipartisan anti-abortion caucus in the United States House of Representatives, have been among the most well-known anti-abortion Democrats.[49] However, following his vote in favor of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Marjorie Dannenfelser of the SBA List reported that her organization was revoking an anti-abortion award it had been planning to give to Stupak,[50] and anti-abortion organizations accused Stupak of having betrayed the anti-abortion movement.[51][52][53]

Violence

There was an arson attack at an abortion clinic in 1981 in Michigan that caused US$57,000 in damage.[54] On September 11, 2006, David McMenemy of Rochester Hills, Michigan, crashed his car into the Edgerton Women's Care Center in Davenport, Iowa. He then doused the lobby in gasoline and started a fire. McMenemy committed these acts in the belief that the center was performing abortions; however, Edgerton is not an abortion clinic.[55] Time magazine listed the incident in a "Top 10 Inept Terrorist Plots" list.[56]

Footnotes

  1. ^ According to the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade:

    (a) For the stage prior to approximately the end of the first trimester, the abortion decision and its effectuation must be left to the medical judgement of the pregnant woman's attending physician. (b) For the stage subsequent to approximately the end of the first trimester, the State, in promoting its interest in the health of the mother, may, if it chooses, regulate the abortion procedure in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health. (c) For the stage subsequent to viability, the State in promoting its interest in the potentiality of human life may, if it chooses, regulate, and even proscribe, abortion except where it is necessary, in appropriate medical judgement, for the preservation of the life or health of the mother.

    Likewise, Black's Law Dictionary defines abortion as "knowing destruction" or "intentional expulsion or removal".

References

  1. ^ White, Ed (September 7, 2022). "Judge strikes down 1931 Michigan law criminalizing abortion". WOOD-TV. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  2. ^ Yu, Yue Stella (September 8, 2022). "Supreme Court clears abortion, early voting proposals for Michigan ballot". Bridge Michigan. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "2022 Michigan Proposal 3 - Reproductive Freedom Election Results". Detroit Free Press. November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  4. ^ Watson, Katie (20 Dec 2019). "Why We Should Stop Using the Term "Elective Abortion"". AMA Journal of Ethics. 20 (12): E1175-1180. doi:10.1001/amajethics.2018.1175. PMID 30585581. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  5. ^ Chamberlain, Pam; Hardisty, Jean (2007). "The Importance of the Political 'Framing' of Abortion". The Public Eye Magazine. 14 (1).
  6. ^ "The Roberts Court Takes on Abortion". New York Times. November 5, 2006. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
  7. ^ Brennan 'Dehumanizing the vulnerable' 2000
  8. ^ Getek, Kathryn; Cunningham, Mark (February 1996). "A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing – Language and the Abortion Debate". Princeton Progressive Review.
  9. ^ "Example of "anti-life" terminology" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2011-11-16.
  10. ^ Goldstein, Norm, ed. The Associated Press Stylebook. Philadelphia: Basic Books, 2007.
  11. ^ Castillo, Stephanie (2014-10-03). "States With More Abortion Restrictions Hurt Women's Health, Increase Risk For Maternal Death". Medical Daily. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  12. ^ a b c "States pushing abortion bans have highest infant mortality rates". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  13. ^ a b c d Buell, Samuel (1991-01-01). "Criminal Abortion Revisited". New York University Law Review. 66 (6): 1774–1831. PMID 11652642.
  14. ^ a b c d e "Republicans in House, Senate pass anti-abortion bills after emotional debate". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  15. ^ Michelman, Kate (May–June 2006). "When parental involvement laws go wrong". The Humanist. 66 (3).(subscription required)
  16. ^ "STATE POLICY ON INFORMED CONSENT FOR ABORTION" (PDF). Guttmacher Policy Review. Fall 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  17. ^ a b c "State Abortion Counseling Policies and the Fundamental Principles of Informed Consent". Guttmacher Institute. 2007-11-12. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  18. ^ "TRAP Laws Gain Political Traction While Abortion Clinics—and the Women They Serve—Pay the Price". Guttmacher Institute. 2013-06-27. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  19. ^ Lai, K. K. Rebecca (2019-05-15). "Abortion Bans: 8 States Have Passed Bills to Limit the Procedure This Year". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  20. ^ Lai, K. K. Rebecca (2019-05-15). "Abortion Bans: 8 States Have Passed Bills to Limit the Procedure This Year". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  21. ^ Wang, Frances Kai-Hwa. "A ballot initiative in Michigan could let voters choose whether abortion is a protected right". PBS. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  22. ^ Haddad, Ken. "Live stream: Reproductive Freedom for All submits 753K signatures in favor of Michigan abortion rights". WDIV-TV. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Michigan's constitutional amendment seeking to enshrine abortion rights blocked from November ballot | CNN Politics". CNN. 31 August 2022.
  24. ^ Ollstien, Alice Miranda. "Michigan Supreme Court puts abortion on the November ballot". Politico. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  25. ^ Cappelletti, Joey. "Abortion rights to be on Michigan ballot this fall". PBS. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  26. ^ Stracqualursi, Veronica (September 9, 2022). "Michigan Supreme Court orders abortion rights initiative to appear on November ballot". CNN.
  27. ^ de Vogue, Arinne (June 24, 2022). "Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade". CNN. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  28. ^ Howe, Amy (June 24, 2022). "Supreme Court overturns constitutional right to abortion". SCOTUSblog. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  29. ^ Boucher, Dave (August 3, 2022). "Michigan judge extends order preventing criminal charges under abortion ban". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  30. ^ White, Ed (September 7, 2022). "Judge strikes down 1931 Michigan law criminalizing abortion". WOOD-TV. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  31. ^ a b Arndorfer, Elizabeth; Michael, Jodi; Moskowitz, Laura; Grant, Juli A.; Siebel, Liza (December 1998). A State-By-State Review of Abortion and Reproductive Rights. DIANE Publishing. ISBN 9780788174810.
  32. ^ Gould, Rebecca Harrington, Skye. "The number of abortion clinics in the US has plunged in the last decade — here's how many are in each state". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-05-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ businessinsider (2018-08-04). "This is what could happen if Roe v. Wade fell". Business Insider (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2019-05-24. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  34. ^ Bohatch, Emily. "27 states with the most Planned Parenthood clinics". thestate. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  35. ^ "Here's Where Women Have Less Access to Planned Parenthood". Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  36. ^ "Guttmacher Data Center". data.guttmacher.org. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  37. ^ "No. of abortions among women aged 15–19, by state of residence, 2013 by racial group". Guttmacher Data Center. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  38. ^ "Views about abortion by state - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics". Pew Research Center. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  39. ^ "Abortion Incidence and Services in the United States, 1995-1996". Guttmacher Institute. 2005-06-15. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  40. ^ Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2017). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2014". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 66 (24): 1–48. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6624a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 29166366.
  41. ^ Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2018). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2015". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 67 (13): 1–45. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6713a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 30462632.
  42. ^ Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2019). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2016". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 68 (11): 1–41. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6811a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMID 31774741.
  43. ^ Cates, Willard; Rochat, Roger (March 1976). "Illegal Abortions in the United States: 1972–1974". Family Planning Perspectives. 8 (2): 86–92. doi:10.2307/2133995. JSTOR 2133995. PMID 1269687.
  44. ^ Cardenas E, Hunter G (5 January 2005). "Boy Faces Felony in Baseball Bat Abortion". Detroit News.
  45. ^ White P (January 13–21, 2005). "Baseball Bat Abortion". Boulder Weekly. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  46. ^ "Michigan: Restrictions on Young Women's Access to Abortion". NARAL Pro-Choice America. Archived from the original on 2009-05-31. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  47. ^ Bacon, John. "Abortion rights supporters' voices thunder at #StopTheBans rallies across the nation". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  48. ^ "Abortion Rights Activists Rally In All 50 States In Wake Of Restrictive Laws". HuffPost. 2019-05-21. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  49. ^ PATRICK O'CONNOR (21 March 2010). "Historic win close after Bart Stupak deal". Politico.com. Retrieved 2011-11-16.
  50. ^ "Choice, Life Groups Slam Obama Order on Abortion Funding". Fox News. 2010-03-21.
  51. ^ "Stupak: From Prolife Groups' Hero to Villain 'In a Nanosecond' | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction". Christianity Today. 2010-03-22. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  52. ^ "Bart Stupak's Retirement Stirs Mixed Reactions, Christian News". Christianpost.com. 10 April 2010. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  53. ^ Parker, Kathleen (2010-03-24). "Stupak's fall from pro-life grace". The Washington Post.
  54. ^ Jacobson, Mireille; Royer, Heather (December 2010). "Aftershocks: The Impact of Clinic Violence on Abortion Services". American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 3: 189–223. doi:10.1257/app.3.1.189.
  55. ^ "Man Crashes Into Davenport Health Clinic Archived 2010-03-11 at the Wayback Machine". Davenport, IA: KWQC-TV. September 13, 2006. Retrieved May 11,2008.
  56. ^ Fletcher, Dan (2009-09-08). "Top 10 Inept Terrorist Plots". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
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