Mich. House votes to ban partial-birth abortion
The Michigan House of Representatives voted 74-32 to ban partial-birth abortion Tuesday night.
Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing, said he voted against the ban because the bill was “unnecessary” due to a 2003 federal ban on partial-birth abortion already in place.
“It’s a trophy legislation for the Michigan Right to Life and its director Ed Rivet,” Meadows said.
Rep. Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive, said the legislation was necessary to show Michigan law agrees with the federal ban.
“Any opportunity we can take to eliminate abortion is the right step in my opinion,” Meekhof said.
The House did not pass a companion bill that would set the penalties for breaking the ban, thus making it effective, he said.
The bill was passed by the Senate Jan. 22 by a 24-13 vote.
The bill will need approval from Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
Published on Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Comments
Benjy Compson
05/28/08 @ 11:55am
“The House did not pass a companion bill that would set the penalties for breaking the ban, thus making it effective, he said.”
This comment is nothing to do with abortion, but explain this to me: They have a bill making something illegal. There is no punishment for performing this illegal act. Therefore, in the opinion of a person who voted for the bill, it is effective. How does that make sense? Am I missing something?
bbwhine
05/28/08 @ 2:41pm
Benjy: You’re not really missing anything much. It is a law that passed so politicians can go back home and tell their supporters “look what I done fer ya’all.” There’s already a federal law banning partial birth abortion. Adding the state law on top of this makes as much sense as Michissippi (formally known as Michigan) declaring war on Iraq.
Stpid Rednecks
05/28/08 @ 6:02pm
Totally agree bbwhine:
I hate the rednecks from the south who think stabbing a fully formed baby in the head with a sharp metal rod (this is actually how they do it) is wrong. They are so unsophisticated. Fortunetely us intelectual elite know that this act is not barbaric.
Matthew
05/29/08 @ 9:49am
I think the red neck comment was more along the lines of “stupid red necks like back-patting, redundant ledgislation” and had nothing to do with abortion. Of course, you true anti-abortionists are rather foolish. A Supreme Court Justice specifically told you how to outlaw abortion in a way that would pass constitutional muster and you are either too prideful or dumb to actually do it.
On a more relevant note, why do we even have a full-time ledgislature in Michigan? These guys are idiots, and they rarely pass meaningful laws. Let’s help out that Michigan budget crunch and cut them back to part-time.
bbwhine
05/29/08 @ 11:19am
Thanks for the D Matthew. Mr. Redneck missed the whole point thus solidifying his ignorance. The comment had nothing to do with abortion but pandering politicians. Seems they have a ready audience in folks like the Redneck, no wonder the State is in such a mess. Must not be anything worth looking at like the budget, crumbling infrastructure, etc. Let’s go part time, maybe then we can at least limit the damage.
Randy
05/29/08 @ 3:17pm
It’s all the Republicans’ Fault. If we voted for Democrats, our state wouldn’t be in any mess right now. Republicans have never done anything good for this state.