LANSING — Today, the House Committee on Families, Children and Seniors heard testimony on House Bills 4320 and 4321 and tomorrow, the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety will take testimony for Senate Bills 229 and 230. These bills would impose harsh penalties on medical professionals providing legal abortions to Michigan women. The bills would criminalize standard medical practices and potentially force doctors to choose between offering medically necessary care or risk up to two years imprisonment and fines up to $50,000. In response to these bills, the Executive Committee of the Progressive Women’s Caucus issued the following statement:
“Every woman in Michigan deserves the freedom, privacy and respect to make an informed decision about her health and body with professional consultation from her doctor. These bills endanger the lives of women throughout our state by forcing doctors to choose between being penalized for providing high-quality medical care, or following arbitrary and dangerous rules dictated by special interests. The medical community has been very clear that any efforts to limit the ability of physicians to provide women with medically appropriate care will likely result in far worse outcomes and extremely dangerous complications. Instead of creating barriers that continue to take away healthcare options for women, it is time we passed laws that provided better and more affordable healthcare options for all Michiganders.”
Members of the Executive Committee of the Progressive Women’s Caucus: Kristy Pagan, Chair; Kyra Bolden, Vice Chair; Mari Manoogian, Treasurer; Rachel Hood, Secretary; Stephanie Chang, Immediate Past Chair.
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