On September 29, in a 5-3 vote, H.B. 4787 and H.B. 4830 passed the
Michigan House Criminal Justice Committee and are under consideration on
the House floor. Right to Life of Michigan applauds these legislative
efforts to address the ongoing injustice of coerced abortions.
Right
to Life of Michigan expects the full Michigan House and the Michigan
Senate to finally pass the Coercive Abortion Prevention Act (CAPA) this
term. CAPA would add to Michigan's current anti-extortion/coercion
provisions by including coercion to abort as a specific crime. A portion
of CAPA was passed in 2012, and other versions of the legislation have
been considered in past legislative sessions.
During that delay,
vulnerable women have faced threats of physical violence, withdrawal of
financial support, loss of housing and violation of legal agreements in
attempts to coerce them into ending the life of their child.
Tammy
Holly, herself a victim of abortion coercion, has testified three times
now before the Michigan Legislature during work on these bills over the
years.
"Year after year you hope and pray they finally get something accomplished," she said.
Through
her work with the Justice Foundation, Holly has presented numerous
legal affidavits of other Michigan women who have been coerced into
having abortions. In her case, she received zero counseling or screening
and was pressured by her boyfriend, her parent, and the abortionist.
She said it was critical that women understand it's illegal to coerce
them into having abortions, and that isn't happening now.
"My parent said, 'this is how we're going to do it.' The abortion doctor said, 'you don't have any other options," Holly said.
The abortion industry financially gains from abortions and has been silent in the face of this repeated evidence.
Right
to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said, "It's very clear
that we can't trust those who profit from abortion to properly screen
women for coercion. Since they refuse to do anything for these women, we
must act and protect women in those situations."
