Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2008 / Church leaders decry veto of partial-birth abortion bill
Church leaders decry veto of partial-birth abortion bill
by Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published June 20, 2008
Detroit — Church leaders gave a strong response to Gov. Jennifer Granholm's veto of a state ban on partial birth abortion.
As expected, Gov. Granholm last week vetoed Senate Bill 776, which would have outlawed in Michigan the killing of a child than has partially been born.
"Considering similar federal legislation has been held constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Governor's veto exhibits a continued indifference toward and deliberate lack of respect for the preciousness of human life," read a June 13 statement released by the Michigan Catholic Conference. The conference, the official public policy voice for the Church in Michigan, represents the state's bishops.
The governor vetoed a partial-birth abortion ban in 2004, claiming that it was unconstitutional. The constitutionality of this year's bill was assured, as it mirrors a federal ban on partial-birth abortion, which is in place. Yet Gov. Granholm wielded the veto pen again, claiming that the bill made no exception for the health of the mother.
By vetoing the latest bill, the MCC said the governor squandered a chance to transcend partisan politics to protect the most vulnerable of society. The governor is a member of the Democratic Party, which largely supports abortion.
"Regardless of how SB 776 reached her desk, the Governor had the opportunity to rise above internal legislative quarrels and sign a bill that provides maximum protection for those facing a most horrific fate," the MCC's statement read.
Bishop Earl Boyea, bishop of the Diocese of Lansing and formerly a Detroit auxiliary bishop, also weighed in heavily on the governor's decision.
"I am very proud to be a citizen of Michigan where we do not execute even the cruelest criminal," Bishop Boyea said in a statement. "Today, however, I am deeply saddened that our state permits the execution of an innocent baby through the process of partial-birth abortion."
Bishop Boyea pointed out that the governor's veto overrode the will of Michigan citizens.
"The people of this state by direct vote in 2004 and through their elected legislators this year, 2008, have justly condemned this evil," he said. "The governor, by vetoing yet again the will of the people, is allowing this barbaric act to continue.
Persons of good will are encouraged to contact the governor and their legislators to express the need to protect the most vulnerable among us."
MCC spokesman David Maluchnik said the conference is dialoguing with lawmakers and pro-life organizations to figure out what to do next. Because Senate Bill 776 was passed with a large majority — one vote shy of a veto-proof majority in the Senate, and with a veto-proof majority in the House — a veto override by legislators may be possible. Still, legislators typically are more likely to vote for a bill in the first place than to override a governor's veto.
Maluchnik said an override would be "challenging, but not insurmountable."
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