ABORTION REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Abortion Reporting (PA 368 of 1978 and PA 207 and 208 of 1999)
The Michigan Public Health Code (333.2835) requires all abortions to be reported to the state with specific information required and stipulates penalties for not reporting.

ABORTION RESTRICTIONS

Ban All Abortions (PA 328 of 1931)
Pre-Roe v Wade Michigan banned all abortions except when necessary to save the life of the woman. (750.14). In 1973, the Michigan Supreme Court held that the prohibition must be read to include the exceptions required under Roe. People v Bricker, 208 N.W.2d 172 (Michigan 1973).

Ban On Certain Abortions (Public Act 323 of 1931)
Any person who intentionally causes an abortion that is not necessary to preserve the woman’s life is guilty of manslaughter if the abortion occurs after “quickening,” (750.323). This is a recodifying of an 1846 law. In 1973, Larkin v Cahalan (108 NW2d 176) said the law is unconstitutional as applied to pre-viability abortions necessary to preserve the woman’s health and no gestational age for viability was established. However, parts of the law are still valid and enforced.

So-Called “Partial-Birth” Abortion Ban (Public Act 273 of 1996)
The Michigan Public Health Code (333.17016. 333.16221(l) and (m), and 333.16226) would have banned "partial birth abortion," prohibiting a poorly-defined procedure with an exception only for life endangerment. The law was ruled unconstitutional by a federal court and never went into effect. Evans v. Kelley, 977 F Supp. 1283 (E.D. Mich. 1997).

Infant Protection Act — New So-Called “Partial Birth Abortion” Laws (Public Act 107 of 1999 & PA 192 of 1999)
The language in the second so-called “partial birth abortion” law (750.90g) would have banned virtually all abortions, created an ineffective life exception, and imposed a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for the doctor. A federal court ruled the law unconstitutional and issued a permanent injunction. WomanCare of Southfield, P.C. v. Granholm, 143 F. Supp. 2d 827 (E.D. Mich. 2000).

So-Called “Born Alive Infant Protection Act” (Public Acts 687-691 of 2002)
The package of bills took effect in April 2003. The bills provide that a newborn who survived an attempted abortion be considered a newborn surrendered under the Safe Delivery of Newborns Law, if the mother refuses life-sustaining medical treatment. Evidence of life is defined as either breathing, a heartbeat, umbilical cord pulsation or definite movement of voluntary muscles. The physician is required to provide medical care.

So-Called "Legal Birth Definition Act" (Public Act 135 of 2004)
The law attempted to define a born person "at any point after which any anatomical part of the human being is known to have passed beyond the place of the vaginal introitus." The act was scheduled to take effect on March 30, 2005, but was was enjoined by the court until a legal challenge was considered and was later struck down in U.S. District Court. The court found the act “creates a ban on actions at the heart of abortion procedures from the earliest stages of pregnancy, whether used to perform induced abortions or to treat pregnancy loss.” The court also found that the act, which passed through a citizen-initiated referendum after the Governor vetoed the law, endangers women because it fails to contain language protecting the health of the pregnant woman, contains a life exception which is constitutionally inadequate, and includes language which is unconstitutionally vague.

CLINIC REGULATIONS

Abortion Regulations (PA 368 of 1978 and PA 206 of 1999)
Initially, only clinics providing abortions, and not physician offices, were unnecessarily required to meet the standards imposed upon freestanding surgical outpatient facilities. Parts of these regulations were declared unconstitutional in 1984. Birth Control Centers, Inc. v. Reizen, 743 F.2d 352 (6th Cir. 1984). New and unnecessary regulations were passed in 1999 that applied the standards to physician offices if 50% or more of the annual caseload includes performing abortions. The new regulations also added the burdensome criteria including the mandatory size of hallways, room temperature, etc.

CLINIC VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT

Clinic Violence (PA 270 of 1998)
The Public Health Code (333.20198) states any individual who enters a health care facility for the purpose of causing a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed or molested, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000 to $10,000 or both.

CONSCIENCE-BASED EXEMPTION

Conscience-Based Exemption (PA 368 of 1978)
The Public Health Code (333.20181-.20184) says no health professional or institution is required to provide abortions or give advice about abortions. No physician, nurse, medical student, student nurse, or individual who is a member of, associated with, or employed by a hospital, institution, teaching institution, or health facility, who objects on professional, moral or religious grounds, may be required to participate in medical procedures that result in an abortion.

COUNSELING BANS

Counseling Bans (PA 519 of 2002)
The budget for the Michigan Department of Community Health contains language that prohibits adolescent health clinics that receive state money from providing abortion counseling or making referrals for abortions.

The same budget also provides that no money allocated for pregnancy prevention programs, family planning, may be used to provide abortion counseling or referrals. The budget also cut funds for pregnancy prevention.

EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION

Abortion Restrictions (PA 226 of 1997)
380.1507, the law regulating sex education in schools, specifically states “clinical abortion shall not be considered a method of family planning, nor shall abortion be taught as a method of reproductive health.”

FAMILY PLANNING

Eliminate Planned Parenthood from Family Planning Program (PA 360 of 2002)
The law took effect in April 2003. The law requires the Department of Community Health to give priority in funding family planning programs to agencies and organizations that do not do any of the following: perform elective abortions; refer pregnant women for an abortion, or have a policy in writing that elective abortion is considered part of a continuum of family planning and/or reproductive health services. The bill is an attempt to eliminate Planned Parenthoods from the program. Planned Parenthood clinics serve over 1/3 of Michigan's family planning clients.

FETAL RESEARCH

Fetal Research (PA 368 of 1978)
The Michigan Public Health Code bans use of human embryo, fetus, or neonate for nontherapeutic research (333.2685). In addition, an abortion may not be performed for the use of the fetus for research or study (333.2688-89).

FETAL RIGHTS

Fetal Rights (PA 238 and PA 211 of 1998)
Amendments to the Michigan Penal Code and the Revised Judicature Act (750.90a and 600.2922a) to provide criminal and civil penalties for injuring or killing a pregnant woman and the unborn child. It contains an exemption for legal medical procedures such as abortion.

Amendments to the above laws were added by PA 1 and PA 2 of 2001 that stipulate a person can be prosecuted for the “death” of a fetus prior to its birth.

INSURANCE COVERAGE

Ban On Medicaid Funding of Abortions (Public Act 59 of 1987 and PA 124 of 1996)
Beginning December 1988, Michigan refused to pay for abortions through their Medicaid program, except to save a woman’s life. In 1994, the federal government required states to additionally fund abortions in the case of rape or incest. After Governor Engler refused to comply with the federal requirement, a successful lawsuit was filed and Michigan has been funding these abortions as well. PA 124 of 1996 also assured that a related procedure is not billed separately to Medicaid as part of a managed care plan for abortions.

Ban Insurance Coverage for Community College Employees (PA 161 of 2002)
The budget bill for community colleges restricts abortion coverage in the health benefits of community college employees and also contains language that says “Community Colleges that include prescription drugs and medications as a covered health benefit for adults are encouraged to ensure that payment for preventive contraceptives are included in the insurance plan.”

Ban Insurance Coverage For K-12 Employees (PA 191 of 2002)
The K-12 budget bill denied abortion coverage for employees, PA 297 of 2000. On December 31, 1999, Attorney General Frank Kelley issued an opinion declaring the restriction on abortion coverage for K-12 and community college employees unenforceable. In 2002, PA 191 of 2002 was passed and repealed this restriction, so the ban is no longer in effect.

MANDATORY DELAY AND STATE-DIRECTED COUNSELING

Mandatory 24-Hour Waiting Period (Public Act 133 of 1993)
All women seeking abortions are required to receive state-prepared information about the procedure and to wait 24 hours before having an abortion. The information includes depictions of a fetus at a stage closest to the woman’s pregnancy, and a state-prepared informed consent form must be signed immediately prior to an abortion. A six-year-long lawsuit resulted in an eventual settlement in 1999.

Changes in Mandatory 24-Hour Waiting Period (PA 345 of 2000)
Less than two years later, a law was passed, undoing the 1999 settlement. The new law requires that information be accessed in person, by registered mail, fax or from a state web site. These specific requirements make it more burdensome for women to obtain necessary information.

Changes in Mandatory 24-Hour Waiting Period (PA 685 of 2002)
The bill took effect in April 2003. It makes some minor changes in the 24-hour reporting law and attempts to ban pre-payment for abortions in the section that had earlier been ruled unconstitutional.

PARENTAL CONSENT FOR ABORTIONS

Forced Parental Consent (Public Act 211 of 1990)
Since 1993, minors (17 years and younger) are required to attain parental consent or a judicial waiver of the consent requirement to have an abortion. Parental consent requirements can contribute to delays in seeking medical care, making abortion more risky and expensive. Young women, unfamiliar with the judicial system, often experience fear, anxiety and shame as they are forced to reveal the details of their private lives to strangers in the courtroom.

Judicial Review (PA 149 of 2005)
The judiciary budget contains a provision prohibiting reimbursement for cases dealing with abortion and requires the state to compile data on how often the judicial bypass is requested and approved for minors to obtain an abortion. This amendment in the budget bill has been the law since 2000.

PHYSICIAN-ONLY REQUIREMENT

Physician-Only Provide Abortion (PA 328 of 1931)
The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that criminalizing abortions performed by non-physicians is constitutional. People v. Bricker, 208 N.W.2d 172 (Michigan 1973).

In addition, the rules for the board of medicine and board of osteopathic medicine specifically prohibit delegating to anyone the performance of an abortion. They state “a delegating physician shall not delegate the prescription of a drug or device individually, in combination, or in succession for a woman known to be pregnant with the intention of causing either a miscarriage or fetal death.” (R338.108a and R338.2305-7) effective November 17, 1999.

 

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