Lansing Update: MCC Joins Advocacy for Catholic Schools in DC

Posted October 21, 2022

In this update:

Proposal 3 Would Allow Abortion Industry to Regulate Itself

The following is part of a seven-week statewide education campaign to inform Michigan Catholics about Proposal 3 and urge them to vote no on this unlimited expansion to abortion.

As part of that series, Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC) will run a seven-part series breaking down the most concerning parts of the proposal. The articles were authored by John Bursch, a constitutional lawyer and former Michigan Solicitor General who represents MCC.

The following is part five of the seven-part series on Proposal 3:

We’ve used the last month to shine a spotlight on the extraordinarily broad language used in Proposal 3 (the “Reproductive Freedom for All” proposal) that will appear on the ballot this November. The proposal does far more than simply codify Roe v. Wade in our State Constitution.

As we’ve discussed, Proposal 3 invalidates more than two dozen Michigan pro-life laws, authorizes minors to obtain abortion and sterilization without parental consent or even notice, effectively allows abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, and prohibits the state from enacting laws that would protect an unborn baby’s life or even to stop abortions based on sex, race, or disability.

At least women would be protected from unsafe abortion practices, right? Not at all. Proposal 3 authorizes the state to pass limited laws protecting the health of the mother, but only “consistent with accepted clinical standards of practice and evidence-based medicine.” Who establishes “accepted clinical standards of practice” for abortions? Abortionists!

Unlike any other area of medical practice, where doctors and nurses are subjected to all manner of laws to ensure patient safety, abortionists alone would get to decide whether they want to follow a Michigan health and safety law. If abortionists disagree that hospital admitting privileges are important, they can decline to follow a law that requires them. If abortionists think that laws regulating the safety standards for surgical centers are unnecessary for abortion clinics, they can ignore them with impunity.

No matter how a voter feels about abortion, Michigan’s Constitution should not be amended to give abortionists complete control over deciding what Michigan health and safety laws they must follow. Please tell everyone you know: vote “NO” on Proposal 3 on November 8th.

John Bursch is a constitutional lawyer and former Michigan Solicitor General. Through Alliance Defending Freedom, he represents the MCC and Right to Life of Michigan in court to uphold Michigan’s pro-life laws.

Governor Signs Most of MCC-Supported Adoption & Foster Care Bills

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently signed most of the House-led adoption and foster care reform package intended to improve the foster care and adoption process in Michigan.

MCC supported many of the bills introduced in the House that were the result of a bipartisan task force that looked at how to improve the state’s child welfare system.

However, the Governor did veto House Bill 5801, which would have created the Foster Care Improvement Commission to provide certain oversight, research, and advisory functions regarding child welfare and protection and children and youth services.

According to reporting from Capitol newsletter Gongwer, the Governor’s veto letter said the bill would have violated the constitution’s separation of powers.

Otherwise, the Governor signed the remainder of the bills that MCC supported, which are listed here.

MCC, Michigan Catholic School Leaders Advocate for Catholic Education in D.C.

From left to right: Laura Knaus, Associate Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Detroit; Paul Stankewitz, policy advocate for MCC; Eric Haley, Associate Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Detroit; David Faber, Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Grand Rapids.

MCC staff and Catholic school leaders from Archdiocese of Detroit and Diocese of Grand Rapids were in Washington, D.C. this past week meeting with members of Michigan’s congressional delegation regarding federal issues impacting Catholic schools.

During the Catholic School Leadership Summit — hosted by the National Catholic Education Association - more than 100 congressional office visits were made promoting school choice legislation, improvements to ongoing disbursement of COVID relief funding for nonpublic schools, and suggested updates to the Every Student Succeeds Act, which provides services to low-income students and professional development for staff in public and nonpublic schools.