Michigan Democrats accuse 'ignorant' male Republicans over abortion bill
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Version 0 of 1. Frustrated Michigan Democrats are decrying the passage of a bill in the state legislature that requires women seeking health insurance coverage for abortions to have purchased a separate plan before ever becoming pregnant. “The Republican male majority continues to ignorantly and unnecessarily weigh in on important women’s health issues which they know nothing about,” Democratic state senator Gretchen Whitmer told the Senate before the vote on Wednesday. She told the legislature she was raped in college 20 years ago, an announcement she had never made public, in an effort to convince her colleagues to block the measure because of the repercussions it could have for women who find themselves unexpectedly pregnant. Two female Democrats in the House attempted a similar strategy to sway their Republican colleagues, according to the Detroit Free Press. Collen Lamonte said she had a miscarriage 12 weeks into a pregnancy, and Vickie Barnett said she did advanced fetal testing to see if her unborn child would suffer from the life-threatening nervous system disorder Tay Sachs. Republicans said they supported the initiative because taxpayers should not have to use tax dollars or insurance premiums to pay for other people’s abortions. State statistics show that health insurance covered 3.3% of abortions in the state last year. All state Republican senators voted in favor of the vote, as did Democratic senator Tupac Hunter, for a 27-11 passage. In the House, two Democrats and an independent joined all the Republicans to help the bill pass in that chamber with a 62-47 vote. Democrats had urged colleagues to put the proposal on the November 2014 ballot so it could be decided by voters. The proposal was introduced to the legislature through a process that allows citizen-initiated campaign drives to collect support for bills and send them up for debate. Initiatives passed through this process go into effect 90 days after lawmakers adjourn for the year and are not subject to the governor’s veto power. Michigan governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, vetoed similar legislation last year. He said at the time: “I don’t believe it is appropriate to tell a woman who becomes pregnant due to a rape that she needed to select elective insurance coverage, and, as a practical matter, I believe this type of policy is an overreach of government into the private market.” A spokesman for the ACLU of Michigan told the Detroit Free Press a coalition of the bill’s opponents will begin a petition drive next week to repeal the law. Eight other states have instituted similar policies and 15 prevent women from accessing this type of coverage in insurance plans bought in the health exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act. Women who use Michigan’s version of Medicaid are also prevented from using it to cover abortions, except in cases where their life is at risk, or when they have become pregnant through incest or rape. Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |