Abortion bill's veto spurs plan to override
Detroit Free Press
October 11, 2003
By Dawson Bell and Jamie Gumbrecht
Granholm: Measure doesn't protect the health of the womanLANSING -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm's veto Friday of the Legislature's latest attempt to limit the abortion procedure that opponents call partial birth abortion sets the stage for an emotionally charged legislative override attempt. Granholm said the bill, approved by comfortable majorities in both the state House and Senate, is constitutionally flawed because it does not contain a "clear exception" to protect the health of the pregnant woman. Called the Legal Birth Definition Act, the bill would have given legal protection as a person to a living fetus once any part of its anatomy was outside the woman's body. Backers hoped it could be used to prohibit the abortion procedure, in which a fetus is partially delivered, before its skull is crushed and the abortion completed. Backers of the measure are expected to seek an override, which requires a two-thirds majority to succeed. The bill passed in the House, 74-28, and in the Senate, 25-11. An override requires 74 votes in the House and 26 in the Senate. Republican majorities in both houses would need Democrats opposed to abortion to join them to have any chance of an override. Many times, legislators find it difficult to vote to override a veto of a governor of their own party. Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor and one of three Democrats in the Senate to vote for the bill, said an override likely will be discussed early next week. "We haven't sat down yet and figured things out," Basham said. "My goal is to work with the governor of my own party, not embarrass her." Granholm, who is Catholic but a supporter of abortion rights, received major financial support from abortion rights supporters during her gubernatorial campaign last year. David Maluchnik, a spokesman for the Michigan Catholic Conference, which vigorously backed the legislation, said Granholm's decision was "shocking." "It's a big setback for women, and for children, born and unborn," he said. "This is a huge setback." Abortion rights advocates supported Granholm's decision. "With her veto, she is rightly leaving to a physician and his or her patient the ability to make a medical decision about what is in the best interest of the patient," said Kary Moss, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan. "I'm sure the issue will never go away, but I don't think there's enough votes for an override." Michigan has twice before enacted laws intended to restrict the abortion procedure in question. Both were signed by former Gov. John Engler, but struck down by federal courts. Advocates for the bill insist that the measure addresses shortcomings identified by the courts. It contains language they said would allow physicians to protect the life and physical health of the pregnant woman. Opponents, now joined by Granholm, said the protections were inadequate. In her veto letter to the Legislature, Granholm called the issue "one of the most emotional and highly charged of our times," and asked that they work with her to reduce the need for abortion. But Maluchnik repeated the vows of other advocates of the bill, who said the governor's veto won't go unchallenged.
| 
