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April 30, 2003PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTIONS: Bill legally defines birthSen. Michelle McManus sponsored billFROM WIRE SERVICE REPORTSLANSING - A state Senate panel on Tuesday approved a bill that would define the moment a person is born, which critics say is intended to prohibit late-term abortions. According to the bill, a person is considered legally born when any part of a fetus is expelled from a woman's body. If enacted, the measure would be the first in the nation that uses the concept of defining when a person is born to try to prevent the controversial technique that involves a partial removal of the fetus from the uterus. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Michelle McManus, a Lake Leelanau Republican, and drafted in consultation with Right to Life of Michigan. It declares that the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling of Roe v. Wade "made no effort to define birth or place any restrictions of the states in defining when a human being is considered born for legal purposes." Critics of Senate Bill 395 said the measure is headed to a court challenge if Gov. Jennifer Granholm does not first veto the measure. Granholm has said she supports abortion rights and was endorsed in the 2002 campaign by the major supporters of abortion rights. The Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee voted 4-3 along party lines to approve the "Legal Birth Definition Act" and send it to the full Senate, where it will likely be voted on soon. Opponents of the legislation said they're worried the definition would prohibit doctors from focusing on the health of a woman having a miscarriage ahead of a fetus that may not be able to live on its own. However, supporters of the bill said it's important to clear up misunderstandings about when life begins. The Michigan Legislature has twice approved legislation in 1996 and 1999 to prohibit what critics call partial-birth abortion. Former Gov. John Engler signed those bills into law, but they were later declared unconstitutional by the courts because they were legally vague and did not provide sufficient protection for women's health. Critics who testified against the bill on Tuesday said it's a new way to prohibit the so-called partial birth procedure, which involves pulling the fetus partially out of the uterus and then puncturing the skull. The procedure typically takes place later in a pregnancy. Most of the 28,200 abortions performed in Michigan in 2001 were performed during the first trimester, according to Planned Parenthood of Michigan. About 231 of those took place after 20 weeks of gestation, the organization said. The Associated Press and Gongwer News Service contributed to this report | |
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