Michigan abortion laws

Republican efforts to ban vaccine mandates are out. The governor also vetoed abortion alternative spending. But 175 pork projects remain.

A Texas abortion case is testing the landmark Supreme Court ruling. If the law is overturned, a 1846 law criminalizing abortion in Michigan could become operational again.

The GOP-led Senate approved nearly $2 billion in supplemental spending Thursday, but withheld another $3 billion in federal COVID funds, and sought to ban using race and income as factors in vaccine distribution, despite the heavy toll the virus has taken on African Americans.

The anti-abortion group acknowledges defeat in a failed ballot drive, after facing the highest signature-gathering hurdle in decades.

Right to Life of Michigan did not collect enough valid voter signatures to advance an initiative proposing to ban a common second-trimester abortion procedure, according to new estimates from the state Bureau of Elections.

This is no time for putting politics and ideology ahead of patients’ needs, writes a Michigan doctor who offers abortion care during the pandemic.

Elective abortions are taking place across the state, using up desperately needed gloves, gowns and masks.

A number of hot-button issues could be on the ballot in Michigan in November besides the presidency. Among them: banning some abortions, extending civil rights laws to LGBTQ community and adding disclosure rules to lobbyists.

Leaders in Michigan’s Republican-led Legislature are awaiting petition signatures that will allow them to ban a common abortion procedure without signature from Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who opposes the measure.

Some readers took issue with Bridge Magazine’s use of ‘anti-abortion’ to describe those opposing abortion rights, calling the widely used label biased. This writer argues the term shortchanges the group’s positive message.

In a state that favors abortion rights, the group uses a network of ardent volunteers and the “golden ticket” of its candidate endorsements to restrict abortion access. It hopes to make more gains in 2020.

The group said it would withdraw from a federal funding program for low-income patients, citing a rule banning clinics from making abortion referrals to other doctors. Anti-abortion group calls the decision ideological.

The Right to Life-backed group is seeking to ban a common second-trimester procedure known medically as “dilation and evacuation.” A second group is seeking a “fetal heartbeat” ban. Both ballot efforts carry no exceptions for rape or incest.

As lawmakers debate restrictions on abortion in Michigan and elsewhere, a look at numbers that help frame the debate.

The Michigan Heartbeat Coalition filed a petition that would make it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion after around six weeks. Currently, abortion is legal until around 24 weeks.

One day after Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she will veto bills to ban a common second-trimester abortion procedure, the anti-abortion group said it has filed paperwork to put the issue to voters in 2020.

Republican bills would make it a felony for health care providers to perform dilation and evacuation abortions, the most common second-trimester procedure. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vows a veto as Michigan joins other states in abortion battles.

A campaign ad from Lt. Gov. Brian Calley accuses Republican rival for governor Bill Schuette of flip-flopping on abortion. Schuette calls that a lie, cites anti-abortion voting record.

Recent restrictions on gay rights and abortion coverage in Michigan raise questions about whether these laws are stunting the state’s economic recovery, and making it more difficult to attract talent.