LANSING – Acting deliberately on the 35th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that allowed women the right to abortion, the Senate on Tuesday passed SB 776 that would mimic the federal law banning the so-called partial-birth abortion process.

Later in the day, an effort by House Republicans to tie-bar the Senate bill to a House measure involving the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (HB 4676 ) was blocked when no action was taken on the bill.

Four Senate Democrats joined a solid Republican caucus in approving the measure on a 24-13 vote. Voting with the GOP in support of the bill were Sen. Jim Barcia (D-Bay City), Sen. Ray Basham (D-Taylor), Sen. John Gleason (D-Flushing) and Sen. Dennis Olshove (D-Warren).

Sponsor of the bill, Sen. Cameron Brown (R-Fawn River Twp.) said even though the measure duplicated a federal law banning the rarely-used procedure, the state has many laws that duplicate other federal requirements.

The bill is also needed to ensure that the public’s voice outlawing the late-term abortion procedure is heard, Brown said, since the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the state’s legislation defining when birth occurs. The Legislature enacted that provision after a petition drive for an initiated act collected enough signatures to either force the Legislature to act or to put the measure on the ballot.

Sen. Bill Hardiman (R-Kentwood) said the measure would prove to be one of the most important the Legislature would work on all year. Sen. Tom George (R-Kalamazoo) said the practice of partial birth abortion was “medieval.”

But Sen. Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing) said that when dealing with abortion, feelings more often than facts govern debate. Obstetricians and gynecologists oppose legislation limiting the procedure, she said, because it meets no definition of an abortion procedure described in medical texts.

And Sen. Gilda Jacobs (D-Huntington Woods) said it was time that abortion opponents start to show as much passion for children born as those in the womb. She called on all lawmakers to work on helping insure that children have adequate health care insurance and that appropriate sex education classes – which include instruction on abstinence – be conducted so that fewer young women have unwanted pregnancies.

Rep. Paul Condino (D-Southfield), chair of the House Judiciary Committee where the bill was referred, said he would give the measure due consideration, which especially means using his legal expertise to analyze whether the bill meets constitutional scrutiny.

He said his review of the bill will probably take until Friday, at which time he plans to report back to House Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.) about his findings, then he can take the bill up for a hearing as soon as next week.

As for Dillon’s position on the partial birth abortion ban, spokesperson Greg Bird said he’s not aware of any public stance taken by the speaker.

But Liz Boyd, Governor Jennifer Granholm’s spokesperson, said if the bill gets to the governor’s desk she will want to see that it protects the health of a mother. So far, the bill does not do that, she said.

This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com

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