MICHIGAN RANKED 42nd IN NATION
MICHIGAN RANKED 42nd IN NATIONIn National Study, State Gets an D- for Protecting Reproductive Health
Lansing – MARAL Pro-Choice Michigan announces the release of The Status of Women in Michigan by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Under the leadership of a strident anti-choice Legislature, Michigan is ranked 42nd in reproductive health this year, making it one of the most dangerous states in the nation.“Michigan politicians made it quite clear that women’s health is among their lowest priorities,” said Rebekah Warren, Executive Director of the MARAL Pro-Choice Michigan. “This legislative session, we have seen fifty-two bills introduced that attack women’s reproductive health.” The Status of Women in Michigan highlights the remaining obstacles facing women in the Michigan and encourages policy changes designed to improve women’s status. Michigan fared even worse than the national average in reproductive health care, receiving a D- thanks to some of the most restrictive laws on abortion in the nation, including the recent passage of the “Legal Birth Definition Act”. If allowed to go into effect in March 2005, this law bans almost all abortions in Michigan, even endangering women suffering a miscarriage by requiring Michigan physicians to put a non-viable fetus over the well being of the mother, otherwise doctors could face murder charges and a wrongful death suit. Clearly this is one of the most extreme pieces of anti-choice legislation this country has seen. The vague wording and lack of protection for women’s health make the law blatantly unconstitutional and forces a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade. Although pro-choice Governor Jennifer Granholm vetoed similar legislation last year, the signatures of a small portion of the Michigan electorate enabled the bill to return to the legislature for a veto-proof vote through a rarely used constitutional initiative. Currently in Michigan:
Women seeking abortions must read and sign a state-mandated “informed consent” packet which includes photographs of unborn fetuses and had been criticized for its misleading information; The state gags public agencies from counseling on abortion as an option and prohibits them from providing the service or referring patients to an abortion provider; Women must abide by a 24-hour waiting period before getting an abortion, despite the fact that 83% of Michigan counties have no abortion provider so many women must travel long distances to get this medical treatment.
“Instead of continuing to pass unconstitutional laws, Michigan should be focusing on ways to better improve reproductive health care for Michigan women. Improving access for low-income women to reproductive and prenatal health care, assuring conceptive equity in insurance coverage, and improving medically accurate sexuality education to our young people would be a more responsible and appropriate allocation of the State’s money and resources,” Warren said. “If the Legislature has a goal of reducing the number of abortions in Michigan, focusing on preventing unintended pregnancies would be a better place to begin.”MARAL Pro-Choice Michigan was founded in 1979 as a state affiliate of NARAL Pro-Choice America. MARAL Pro-Choice Michigan is a statewide, non-partisan membership organization that works through the political process to guarantee every woman the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including preventing unintended pregnancies, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal and safe abortion. To link to a full version of this report available online, please visit the Institute for Women's Policy Research. CONTACT: Kelly Hamilton, Political Director of MARAL Pro-Choice Michigan, at (517) 327-4707.
|
