By David Eggert
Associated Press
LANSING (AP) — A ballot group announced plans Monday to submit petitions to prohibit a second-trimester abortion procedure in Michigan, a key step toward placing the veto-proof legislation before the Republican-controlled Legislature.
The Michigan Values Life committee said it would turn in nearly 380,000 voter signatures to the state elections bureau, more than the roughly 340,000 needed.
If the petitions are certified as valid, lawmakers would have a 40-day window to pass the ban against dilation and evacuation despite Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s opposition.
The procedure, in which the fetus is removed in pieces with a surgical instrument, was used in 1,908, or seven percent, of abortions in the state last year. It accounted for more than half of all second-trimester abortions, including 80 percent performed after the 16th week of pregnancy.
Right to Life of Michigan, the main organizer of the initiative, refers to the method as “dismemberment.” The group has successfully initiated anti-abortion laws four times previously since 1987.
Abortion-rights advocates say the procedure is safe and doctors should not face prosecution for using it.
The proposed law has an exception to protect a pregnant woman’s life but in cases of rape, incest, a severe fetal diagnosis or when the woman faces a non-life threatening health risk.
Legislators appear likely to approve the citizen-initiated bill. If not, the proposal would go to a statewide vote in November.
Whitmer has vowed to veto identical legislation that Republicans proposed as normal bills. But under the state constitution, a governor’s veto threat can effectively be bypassed through the initiative process.
Dilation and evacuation has been banned by 12 states. Bans are in effect in two but are permanently or temporarily enjoined in nine states because of legal challenges. North Dakota’s law becomes effective if a federal appeals court or the U.S. Supreme Court allows its enforcement.
A Michigan lawsuit appears inevitable.
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