Lansing Update: MCC Calls on Grassroots to Oppose Abortion Mandate Bill

Posted April 21, 2023

In this update:

Action Alert: Tell Your Lawmaker to Reject Abortion Mandate on Employers

Members of the Catholic Advocacy Network (CAN) like you are being called on to contact their state representatives to oppose a bill that would create an abortion mandate on employers in Michigan.

Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC) has spoken out against Senate Bill 147 because it would put abortion on equal footing with childbirth, in that employers that offer benefits related to childbirth may have to do the same for abortion.

“This bill violates human dignity by attempting to equate elective abortion—which intentionally ends a child’s life—with giving birth to a child,” said Rebecca Mastee, policy advocate for the MCC, in a press statement issued by MCC this week. Mastee also provided testimony against the bill in committee.

As MCC has stated, the proposed policy not only violates the dignity of human life but also violates the deeply held beliefs of employers that provide benefits in accordance with their conscience and beliefs about human life and could lead to costly litigation to defend First Amendment rights.

Senate Bill 147, sponsored by Sen. Erika Geiss (D-Taylor), was approved by the House Judiciary Committee this week and is now on the House floor. Catholics are invited to contact their state representatives before a vote takes place to urge them to reject this abortion mandate on employers.

Legislation to Ensure Safe Drinking Water in Schools Passes Senate

Bills supported by MCC to ensure all schools and childcare centers have safe drinking water were approved by the state Senate on bipartisan votes.

Senate Bills 88 and 89 would require that schools and childcare centers — including nonpublic schools — create drinking water management plans to ensure access to water is clean and safe, provided that the state provides money to do so in the budget process.

Senate Bills 88 and 89 passed on 31-6 and 30-7 votes, respectively, and move next to the House for consideration. The House is also considering similar bills but those have not yet advanced.

Package Proactively Preventing Sex Abuse Clears Legislative Committees

Bills to proactively prevent sexual abuse of children under the guise of medical treatment cleared both House and Senate committees this week with MCC support.

Similar bills were approved by both the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety Committee this week, and both bill packages now await action on their respective chamber floors.

The legislation would, among many measures, make it a crime to abuse a patient under the guise of medical care, or misrepresent that sexual contact is necessary for a patient’s health. The bills also require parental consent for certain sensitive procedures conducted on children.

MCC has supported this legislation four sessions in a row, which were provoked by the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal at Michigan State University and are intended to prevent another tragedy like that from occurring in any setting.