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The Michigan Legislature has passed a ban on abortion coverage in private and public insurance plans, requiring women to buy an extra policy before becoming pregnant. The bill provides no exception for rape, incest, or fetal anomalies.

The law, to take effect in early 2014, was passed Wednesday in both chambers of the Michigan Legislature and is protected by a rarely used legislative loophole which effectively insulates the measure from the governor’s veto power.

Opponents have equated the policy to “rape insurance,” as a woman would not be eligible to purchase the insurance rider once pregnant - regardless of the circumstances. The only exceptions to the policy are for a woman’s health in the case of miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, or “to avert her death.”

“You couldn’t buy a rider once you were pregnant to have [an abortion] covered,” Meghan Groen, director of government relations for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, told RH Reality Check in November. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, I was raped and so now I’ll buy this rider.’ Nobody is anticipating being a victim of crime.”

A similar bill was vetoed last year by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who then called the proposal “too extreme.” In 2000, former Gov. John Engler also vetoed a similar bill.

This time around, an uncommon procedure allowed in the state’s constitution was used to circumvent Snyder and an overall referendum that would require the initiative to reach Michigan voters.

The anti-choice group Right to Life Michigan used the obscure provision, which says that a proposal can go directly to the Legislature if three percent of state residents sign in support of the initiative. The House and Senate can then pass it without the possibility of the governor’s veto - if both chambers act within 40 days of the state canvassing board’s approval of the initiative’s validity.

The legislative initiative provision has been used only four times in the state’s history; three of those times were by Right to Life Michigan.

The Michigan Senate passed the bill 27 to 11, with all Republicans and one Democrat voting in support. The House approved the law by a vote of 62-47, with all Republicans, two Democrats, and one Independent supporting it.

Republicans said the move was legal and that signatures came from residents in all 83 state counties. They also claimed the measure makes sure abortions are not subsidized by taxpayers, though it's already illegal in federal and state law for any taxpayer dollars to go toward abortion, nor do federal dollars pay for abortions in the Affordable Care Act’s new insurance exchanges.

During the debate over the bill, state Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D) spoke out against the proposal, revealing that she was raped while in college 20 years ago.

“Thank God it didn’t result in a pregnancy because I can’t imagine going through what I went through and then having to consider what to do about an unwanted pregnancy from an attacker,” Whitmer said, according to AP. “If this were law then and I had become pregnant, I would not be able to have coverage because of this. How extreme, how extreme does this measure need to be?” http://rt.com/usa/michigan-abortion-insurance-coverage-167/

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Originally posted by Niki2:
The Michigan Senate passed the bill 27 to 11, with all Republicans and one Democrat voting in support. The House approved the law by a vote of 62-47, with all Republicans, two Democrats, and one Independent supporting it.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I trust this will go to the Supreme Court. On the face of it, it seems to defy equal protection under the law.

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Originally posted by BYTEMITE:
What manner of hell do you live in?

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A cross cultural anecdote. 'Fanny' means vagina in both Australia and the UK. The fact that many Americans talked about their 'fanny packs' caused us much amusement when we were travelling.

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