On June 8, Governor Rick Snyder signed into law HB 4787 and HB 4830, the Coercive Abortion Prevention Act (CAPA). The legislation will help stop coerced abortions from happening in Michigan.
Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said, “This wonderful news marks the end of a decade-long journey to stop coerced abortions, an everyday occurrence in Michigan.”
Research confirms that a substantial number of women feel forced by boyfriends, spouses, parents, and others to have an abortion against their will. Women are coerced through threats of physical violence, withdrawal of financial support, loss of housing and violation of employment contracts or other legal agreements.
In legislative debates, even elected officials who voted against CAPA acknowledged coerced abortions happen. Trying to downplay these acts of injustice, they suggested that only 3 percent of abortions are coerced. That would mean in 2015 there were 815 Michigan women forced to take the life of their own child against their will.
Listing said, “How can someone downplay coerced abortions while admitting that it happens to hundreds of women in Michigan every year?”
CAPA passed the Michigan Senate by a vote of 26-11 on May 25, and a House vote of 65-43 on March 24.
CAPA adds to Michigan's current anti-extortion/coercion provisions by including coercion to abort as a specific crime and establishes penalties.
Parts of CAPA were passed into law in 2012 through the Prolife Omnibus Act. These provisions included a screening process at abortion clinics and requiring the clinics to post a notification that coercion to abort is illegal. These delayed provisions can now be put into place.
Listing said, “The abortion industry in Michigan has profited from thousands of women who never chose to have an abortion. It’s time for that to end.”
