PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTIONS: PROHIBIT S.B. 1029 (S-1): FLOOR ANALYSIS
Senate Bill 1029 (Substitute S-1 as reported) Sponsor: Senator Joel D. Gougeon
Committee: Families, Mental Health and Human Services
The bill would amend the Public Health Code to prohibit partial-birth abortions, except to save the life of a pregnant woman; and to require that a license suspension for a violation be at least two years. Specifically, a physician, or an individual performing an act, task, or function under the delegatory authority of a physician, would be prohibited from performing a partial-birth abortion, even if the abortion were otherwise permitted by law. A violation of this prohibition would subject the physician or other individual to disciplinary action (licensure or registration denial, suspension, or revocation), but it would be an affirmative defense that the physician or other individual reasonably believed that performing the partial-birth abortion was necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman whose life was endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury and that no other medical procedure would accomplish that purpose. If a disciplinary subcommittee suspended a person’s license or registration for a violation of the bill, the suspension would have to be for at least two years.
The bill specifies that these provisions would not create a right to abortion. A person could not perform an abortion that was prohibited by law.
“Abortion” would mean the intentional use of an instrument, drug, or other substance or device to terminate a woman’s pregnancy for a purpose other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, or to remove a dead fetus. Abortion would not include the use or prescription of a drug or device intended as a contraceptive. “Partial-birth abortion” would mean an abortion in which the physician or individual acting under the delegatory authority of the physician performing the abortion “partially vaginally delivers a living fetus before killing the fetus and completing the delivery”. “Fetus” would mean an individual organism of the species homo sapiens at any time before complete delivery from a pregnant woman.
MCL 333.16221 et al. Legislative Analyst: L. Burghardt
This bill would increase the costs for the Bureau of Occupational and Professional Regulation in the Department of Consumer and Industry Services, as the Bureau would be required to conduct an increased number of routine investigations.
It is difficult to predict the amount of this increase as it would depend upon the number of cases, but the Department estimates that the increase would be marginal.
Date Completed: 5-29-96 Fiscal Analyst: M. Barsch
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This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.