Michigan Votes Forum

Introduced in the House on October 27, 2011, to require an abortion provider to ask a a woman seeking an abortion if her husband, parents, siblings, relatives, employer, the father or putative father, his parents or any other individual in a position of authority has threatened, intimidated, or coerced her into seeking an abortion. Also, to require the Department of Community Health to produce information, screening tools, and protocols for this

The vote was 71 in favor, 38 opposed and 1 not voting

(House Roll Call 105 at House Journal 0)

Click here to view bill details.

 This bill and HB 4798, 4799, 5181, and 5182 are totally unnecessary as doctors are already required to screen patients for domestic violence, which includes questions about coercion or threats. The bills' purpose is biased against abortion and women seeking abortions. The bill sets up harassing procedures to intimidate women into not choosing an abortion. It creates another criminal offense directed soley at doctors who perform abortions, thus discouraging them from doing abortions. In short, these bills that pretend to protect women against cercion are themselves coercive. Women seeking an abortion expect their doctors to be concerned about their health and well-being, not an advocate for anti-aboriton zealots. Simply put,these bills over-regulate abortion providers and harass pregnant women seeking an abortion into carrying a pregnancy to term. The ACLU of Michigan, Michigan National Organization for Women, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, the Progressive Women's Alliance of West Michigan, and the Michigan Congress of the Organizations for Obstetricians and Gynecologists all opposed these bills.