Michigan National Organization for Women

Post Office Box 860

East Lansing, Michigan 48826

(517) 485-9687 www.michnow.org

Testimony Concerning Senate Bill 1049

before the

Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee

February 5, 2008

by

Mary Pollock, Legislative Vice-president

Michigan National Organization for Women

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Senate Bill 1049.

The Michigan National Organization for Women urges you to oppose Senate Bill 1049 that would establish a criminal penalty for those convicted of performing an abortion procedure that is sometimes the safest method to protect a woman’s health and her future fertility. The choice of abortion procedure should be made by women and their doctors rather than criminalized in Michigan.

Mainstream Medical Providers Oppose a Ban on So-called “Partial-birth Abortion- The ban on so-called “partial-birth” abortion in SB 776, to which SB 1049 is tie-barred, is opposed by the American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Nurses Association, the American Medical Women’s Association, the American Public Health Association, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America, among others. That is because the definition of “partial-birth” abortion in the bill may be interpreted to ban dilation and extraction (D & X) or its variant, intact dilation and evacuation (intact D & E), options doctors say they need if they are to practice the safest and best medicine to preserve a woman’s health.

The D & X and intact D & E abortion methods are safer because there are fewer insertions of instruments into the uterus, uterine perforation is reduced, retained fetal tissue is reduced, blood loss is lessened, and anesthesia exposure is shortened. These are significant advantages for women with serious medical conditions such as previous hysterotomy or cesarean section with a vertical scar; where the fetal skull is too large to exit a partially dilated cervix, where the woman has placenta previa and accreta, chorioamnionitis, or where the fetus has abnormalities such as severe hydrocephaly or other anomalies incompatible with life outside the womb. (See Brief of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as Amicus Curiae Supporting Respondents, in Carhart II, 550 USSC ____.) Intact D & E is safer for women with certain medical conditions such as uterine scarring, bleeding disorders, heart disease or compromised immune systems.

“Partial-birth” Abortion Doesn’t Protect Fetal Life, It Just Punishes Women – “Partial-birth” abortion is not terminology used by doctors to describe a form of abortion. “Partial-birth” abortion is a politically created construct designed to arouse revulsion by those not exposed to descriptions of any surgical procedures, much less surgical abortion. Those who created the “partial-birth” abortion construct oppose all abortions at any stage of pregnancy. In our view, SB 776 and its companion bill, SB 1049, would put women at risk of health complications, including risking women’s future fertility. Those who support SB 776 and SB 1049 as introduced are signing on to risking women’s future health and fertility, a cruel and uncaring act toward real living women in Michigan.

A law criminalizing so-called “partial-birth” abortion does not protect fetal life; it just punishes women who might need this form of abortion to protect their health. And it punishes the doctors who are trying to help them with criminal penalties and private lawsuits.

Criminalizing Abortion is Wrong for Michigan - Like the federal ban, SB 776 and SB 1049 are extreme and overreaching legislation that disregard women's health and may risk their future fertility. If you care about women’s health and future fertility, you will vote NO on this bill.

In summary, Michigan NOW opposes SB 776 and SB 1049. Any restriction on abortion that does not contain a health exception must be rejected.

Thank you for the opportunity to offer Michigan NOW’s view on this dangerous bill.