A state House committee could vote this week to outlaw a procedure critics call partial-birth abortion.
Similar efforts to ban the procedure in Michigan have failed in the past. Two bills were vetoed, and three laws that were enacted were struck down by the courts.
But that was before the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal ban on the procedure in 2007. Ed Rivet of Right to Life of Michigan says this time around, he expects less of a fight.
"Given the kind of epic political battles that have been fought around this issue in the past, this is going to be kind of an anti-climactic finish, at least in terms of political fireworks."
Still, there are critics who are opposed to the legislation. Their main argument is that it’s unnecessary, since there’s a federal law on the books that already outlaws the procedure.
Sarah Hulett is Michigan Public's Director of Amplify & Longform, helping reporters to do their best work.
