LANSING, April 1, 2013
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The omnibus bill, which passed the Republican-dominated legislature in December, requires the state's abortion facilities to upgrade their health and safety standards, properly dispose of aborted babies, and assure that women were not coerced into abortion.
In all, 24 of the state's 32 abortion facilities will have to obtain a state license, and 16 must meet the same requirements as other surgical centers.
“The licensing requirements are reasonable enough that we can accommodate them,” Lori Lamerand, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Mid and South Michigan, told CBS 62 in Detroit.
Her organization previously warned such requirements would force closures and deprive women of their access to “choice.”
Ed Rivet of Right to Life of Michigan said her admission proves Planned Parenthood was engaging in scare tactics. “The catastrophic claims that abortion advocates said were going to bring to an end abortion in the state...was Chicken Little then and Chicken Little now.”
The law requires abortion personnel to inform patients that coerced abortions are illegal. However, the state stripped the law actually making coerced or forced abortions illegal out of the final bill.
The state's pro-life forces have made correcting that discrepancy their new legislative goal.
