Mich. ranked first for pro-life laws
Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published April 28, 2006
Detroit — Legal efforts backed by strong support from a well-educated public, including the Catholic Church, have helped Michigan to a No. 1 ranking for defending life by a national pro-life group, state pro-life leaders say.
In an annual state-by-state study, Americans United for Life – a Chicago-based group that focuses on defending human life through legislative, judicial, and educational efforts – heralded Michigan’s success in protecting life by means of regulating abortion and unethical medical research, and banning destruction of life in other forms.
The AUL based its grading of Michigan on protection of the unborn and newly born, bioethics laws, end-of-life laws and heath care rights laws.
A unique dynamic occurs in Michigan, pro-life leaders say: a solid coalition of pro-life groups, typically led by Right to Life of Michigan and the Michigan Catholic Conference, instigate legislation that is then supported strongly by Michigan’s citizens, including the millions-large Catholic population in the state.
Barbara Listing, president of Right to Life of Michigan, says the ranking by the AUL is a result of that dynamic – and it’s something to be proud of.
“It really demonstrates to our grassroots people who have worked over the past 30-some years that their work pays off and that they really should feel proud of their efforts,” Listing said. “The ranking translates into lives saved.”
The lynchpin for pro-life legal efforts in the state, Listing noted, is the strong lobbying body. Right to Life’s lobbying chief, Ed Rivet, said lobbying works because the collaborative effort between pro-life leaders and well-educated Michigan citizens wields clout in the state capitol.
“We are a profoundly grassroots state,” said Rivet. “That’s it. It’s a domino effect. Because we have over 100 affiliated groups and we connect with groups like the Michigan Catholic Conference – that comes to bear a lot of influence on the legislative process.”
Paul Long, vice president for public policy at the Michigan Catholic Conference, the Church’s public policy voice in the state, says the successes noted by the AUL especially reflect on the close working relationship between the Church and Right to Life of Michigan.
Not every state has that, he said.
“The fact that we’ve been able to closely collaborate and work in strong cooperation with Michigan Right to Life has been a very key cornerstone to that success,” Long said. “And certainly we have done a significant job of education the Catholic population about these issues. Because they are so well-grounded, the Catholic population has certainly been a significant assistance.”
In the past few years, Michigan’s citizens and pro-life leaders have come together on a number of issues, giving the state a list of pro-life legal accomplishments.
The legal birth definition act, for example, was passed by a hugely popular override of a Gov. Jennifer Granholm veto in 2003. The act legally recognizes the personhood of a child once any part of him or her is outside of the mother’s womb, thus outlawing so-called partial birth abortion.
Michigan five years ago also adopted the Safe Haven Bill, which became a law allowing a mother to drop a child off at any fire or police station and not be charged for abandonment. It aimed at stopping infanticide, which was resorted to each year by desperate mothers.
The AUL also notes that Michigan has laws banning human cloning and destructive embryo research. Neither can Michigan tax dollars be used to pay for abortions, abortion counseling or abortion referrals.
A Michigan program to assist college students in crisis pregnancies – the Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Act, passed in 2004 – is being copied at a federal level to help reduce the number of abortions.
Just this year, the Michigan Catholic Conference saw another victory as Gov. Granholm signed into law a bill that would require abortionists to offer ultrasound images of the unborn child to the mother considering abortion.
And Rivet said there’s another legal effort that soon will reach lawmakers – one aimed at stopping husbands, boyfriends or parents from pressuring expectant mothers to kill their unborn children.
The respect for human life extends, as well, to the other side of the spectrum, the AUL study notes. Assisted suicide is a felony in Michigan, for example.
Though the AUL’s report on Michigan is largely positive, the organization identifies a few areas in which Michigan’s legal stance can be improved to defend life, such as requiring abortionists to disclose information on fetal pain and the link between abortion and breast cancer.
And despite all of the efforts in Michigan to regulate and reduce the number of abortions, because of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, a mother killing her unborn child is legal through all nine months of pregnancy, in all 50 states.
Though the number of abortions has dropped drastically in Michigan – by nearly 50 percent since 1987, Right to Life of Michigan states – more than 25,000 unborn children still are killed in the state each year.
To some, it makes the AUL ranking less significant.
“I agree that the Michigan legislature has done much within the shackles of Roe v. Wade,” said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Ann Arbor-based Thomas More Law Center, which has joined in many efforts to protect human life through legislation. “But to take comfort in the legislation that’s been adopted when we still have 1.3 million babies in America aborted every year I think gives a false sense of accomplishment.”
The Michigan Catholic Conference, too, acknowledges that more needs to be done. Although the Church in Michigan holds that the strategy of passing a constitutional amendment in direct conflict with Roe v. Wade – something others in the state are attempting this year with a petition drive – will be counterproductive, there are other areas to work on. For example, Long said, the Michigan Catholic Conference still is working on a measure to protect privately-owned hospitals from being forced to commit immoral acts, such as distribute contraception.
“There’s always more that can be done in the framework of the current Supreme Court precedents,” Long said.
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