(Source: MIRS.news, Published 04/06/2023) One Flint-based OB-GYN program director says an abortion provider can see two to three extra patients per week as some individuals travel to Michigan from out of state.
After the Governor signed legislation Thursday removing a 92-year-old and currently ineffectual abortion ban from Michigan's books, Dr. Omari Young – an obstetrics and gynecology resident program director – told MIRShow there's been a consistent influx of women visiting Michigan for reproductive and abortion care since the June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling.
"As we look at the landscape across the other states, if bans keep going into effect in other states, we might see further distances traveled to receive care in the state of Michigan," Young said.
Today, at Hazel's seasonal seafood restaurant in Oakland County, Young stood aside Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, legislators and abortion advocacy leaders, as HB 4006, HB 4032 and SB 2 were signed. Multiple remarks this morning paid tribute to Proposal 3 of 2022, which inscribed abortion access in the state's constitution.
When the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision was overturned by the Dobbs decision, legal maneuvers led by Whitmer and Planned Parenthood of Michigan ahead of time kept the 1931 ban blocked.
Under the ban, which was first produced in 1846, someone who administered miscarriage-procuring drugs or performed the surgical abortion procedure could be charged with a felony punishable by four years in prison – unless actions were taken to "preserve the lives of such women."
If the abortion resulted in death, the person would then be charged with manslaughter punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Because of an injunction overseen by the courts, and now because of the passage of Proposal 3, Young described Indiana and Ohio as the most common locations where patients will travel from.
In Ohio, the state's ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy has been halted by ongoing litigation since Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Christian Jenkins granted a restraining order in September 2022 as part of a lawsuit filed on behalf of Ohio-based abortion providers. The state's original precedent authorizing abortions to legally take place at 20 weeks' gestation has resurfaced to replace the ban that's remaining under preliminary injunction.
Indiana is in a similar situation, as an abortion ban approved in August 2022 – permitting abortions exclusively in certain cases of rape and incest, to protect a mother's physical health or life and if a fetus is diagnosed with a lethal anomaly – continues to be challenged in the Indiana Supreme Court.
Young said as Michigan accepts patients from out of state seeking abortion care and reproductive health services, there's "already a shortage of family planning and abortion providers, so to add that extra volume from out of state has definitely put a strain on us, but a lot of our colleagues are working hard to provide that care."
He said he would like to see obstetricians and gynecologists be provided abortion-related training and education if they haven't administered that type of care beforehand.
When asked about how the language in Proposal 3 still allows for state abortion-related regulations following post-fetal viability, Young said the constitutional amendment did not provide any new laws or guidelines on how he and his colleagues practice reproductive and abortion care.
"But again, there are unique circumstances where there's significant danger to the mother, that there might be instances where you need to end a pregnancy post viability…and again, 'viability' is very dependent on which institution you're at, which state you're in . . . but again, those are very rare circumstances," he said. "You'll hear a lot of (misinformation) saying 'abortion up to birth,' 'post-term abortion . . .' those aren't medical terms, and those aren't actual things that OBG-YNs practice."
Ultimately, Young said he was feeling on "Cloud Nine" today at the Governor's event.
However, shortly after the bills were signed, the Michigan Catholic Conference issued a press release claiming the repeal legislation diminishes prohibitions on advertising and selling "do-it-yourself abortion practices," as well as the aforementioned charge against a provider if a woman died due to her abortion.
"The current legislative majority and Gov. Whitmer's new abortion policy presents risk and harm for vulnerable women and does not reflect what voters were sold regarding Proposal 3 – that it would just 'restore Roe v. Wade' – because under Roe, each of these laws now being repealed served a valid purpose," said Policy Advocate Rebecca MASTEE of the Michigan Catholic Conference. "We urge public officials to work toward a society where women do not feel that abortion is their only choice when facing a difficult, unplanned, or unwanted pregnancy."
