Michigan to Add Abortion Regulations

According to the Detroit Free Press, Governor Jennifer Granholm is going to sign into law a bill requiring Michigan abortion providers to give a pregnant woman the option of viewing ultrasound images of her fetus before performing an abortion.

This is significant because it is the first time Granholm has agreed with the Legislature's anti-abortion majority on a measure to regulate abortion.

Kary Moss, of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, said the ultrasound bill is another in a line of "small, incremental steps... all designed to put up barriers" to legal abortion.

Yep. That's the point. And it is about time.

Granholm, a Catholic facing re-election this fall, has faced strong criticism from abortion opponents, including some who picketed outside her parish during her 2002 campaign for governor. She was endorsed by and received hefty contributions from the national abortion-rights group Emily's List.

In 2004, Right to Life of Michigan and the Michigan Catholic Conference collected signatures for a successful legislative initiative to restrict so-called partial birth abortion to override a Granholm veto. That law was challenged and won't be implemented before a final judicial outcome.

Based on my observation of Michigan politics, it looks like Governor Granholm is worried about the election in November. Her likely Republican challenger, Dick DeVos is a pretty hard-core anti-abortion guy. With Michigan's economy flushing down the toilet at an increasingly fast pace, and (wrongly, in my opinion) Governor Granholm catching the blame, she may have to really go "middle-of-the-road" in this upcoming election.

Abortion