Hundreds of pro-choice advocates protested Michigan’s proposed package of anti-abortion legislation in the state’s Capitol yesterday. Women and men, many of whom wore pink Planned Parenthood t-shirts, chanted on the lawn and occupied the balconies of the House as legislators discussed the bills. According to the Associated Press, Planned Parenthood’s presence stemmed from their exclusion from last week’s panel hearing on these bills.
The activists chanted and applauded pro-choice legislators, calling out, “This is our house,” and “We’ll remember in November.” Planned Parenthood estimates that approximately 500 people joined the protest.
As previously reported, a package of anti-abortions bills in Michigan was approved by a State House Panel last Friday and the bills were being prepared to be taken up by the House during yesterday’s protest. Under the proposed laws, abortion would be banned after 20 weeks; doctors would be required to screen women seeking abortions to make sure they are not being coerced; doctors would be prohibited from using webcams to provide consultation as women undergo medication abortions; and there would be new restrictions on disposing of fetal remains. One of the bills also requires clinics that perform abortions to be licensed as surgical centers.
Associated Press, 06/12/12; Think Progress, 06/12/12; Feminist Majority Foundation, 06/08/12
