pregnancy

Michigan high school bans baby bump photos from yearbook

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:52:36 +0000

Two teens were banned from showing their pregnant bellies in yearbook photos, the Associated Press reported:

A Michigan school district has barred two pregnant students from showing their baby bumps in the high school yearbook — a decision made to keep with the state's abstinence-based approach to sex education, according to the superintendent.

Deonna Harris says she was pulled aside this week by a yearbook staff member and told her photo would have to be re-taken because the previous shot displayed Harris' pregnant belly.

New blood test can determine paternity before birth

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 21:39:31 +0000

Pregnant women in Michigan can now use a simple blood test to identify the father of their unborn child.

Three labs across the state now offer the noninvasive prenatal paternity test. The Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Lansing sites are part of the ArcPoint Franchise Group.

With only a blood sample from the mother and a cheek swab from the potential father, paternity can be determined as early as five weeks after conception.

At that time, the pregnant woman's blood starts carrying fragments of the fetus' DNA.

The labs send the mother's blood samples and potential father's cheek swab to a different lab in Columbia, Md., where technicians compare genetic markers to determine paternity.

State lawmakers halt fetal tax exemption bills

Jake Neher — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 22:41:25 +0000

It appears legislation to allow people to claim a fetus as a dependent on their state taxes has stalled.

Plans to vote on the bills were scrapped, and they were removed from Monday’s state House Tax Policy Committee agenda.

Opponents of the measures called them a backhanded attack on access to abortions.

Committee Chairman Jud Gilbert said the issue has become too contentious.

Michigan considers tax breaks for women with 12 week old fetuses

Mark Brush — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 17:07:38 +0000

Some Michigan legislators are working to give pregnant women a tax break for their fetuses.

The plan is to allow a woman to claim a 12-week-old fetus as a dependent on their state income tax return.

From House Bills 5684 & 5685: