Michigan House of Representatives bill HB5711 is a bill that is currently working its way through the House. It seeks to restrict women’s access to safe, legal abortions.
Read the full bill text at the link below or keep reading for a short summary.
Michigan House Bill HB5711 full text pdf
Michigan House Bill HB5713 full text pdf
The bill, while complex, comes down to five distinct parts. Here is everything you need to know about the HB5711 bill:
HB5711 bans ALL abortions after 20 weeks. This includes cases of rape, incest or even extreme genetic abnormality. The only exception is if a woman’s life is in danger. This portion has been added to a separate bill (HB5713), which is also being debated.
HB5711 would make doctors investigate whether a woman has been coerced into having an abortion, prior to performing one. Doctors would have to administer a questionnaire to their patients to inform them of the illegality of coerced abortions and to determine if they were coerced.
HB5711 will require that a doctor be present to administer chemical abortive drugs. This will end telemedicine abortions and make it extremely difficult for women in rural areas to receive an abortion. Without access to abortions, it is possible some women may turn to less safe methods of pregnancy termination.
HB5711 will require doctors who perform five or more abortions per month to have $1,000,000 in malpractice insurance. If the doctor has had two or more civil suits against them in the past seven years, they will also be required to have the insurance. This insurance could cost upwards of $100,000 a year, making it difficult for many doctors to provide abortions.
HB5711 will require doctors who perform six or more abortion per month or advertise as an abortive services clinic to be certified as a “freestanding surgical facility.” The certification requires the clinics to have a full surgical suite, even if they do not offer surgical abortions. This would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars on top of the insurance costs listed above.
The restrictions in this bill are slight but insidious. They seem good on their face. But all of these requirements and regulations would make many doctors go out of business and make women in rural areas prey to unscrupulous and unlicenced abortion doctors.
It is very important that this bill is stopped. If you want to help stop this bill, please sign the ACLU’s petition and call your representatives. The more voices we have, the more the legislators will listen.
Also make sure to check out some facts about abortion and my article on why I’m pro-choice.
