Posted on 02/28/2006 11:58:14 AM PST by SonofLiberty1
Law Center Defends Michigan’s Ban on Partial Birth Abortions in the Federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
ANN ARBOR, MI —The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, filed its opening brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in defense of Michigan’s ban on partial birth abortions. The Law Center is asking the court to overturn the lower court ruling, which struck down the ban and denied its prime sponsor, Standing Together To Oppose Partial-birth-abortion (“STTOP”), to intervene in the lawsuit.
The Act, known as the Michigan Legal Birth Definition Act, is a new approach that would ban the grisly partial birth abortion procedure by defining the moment when a human being is born and therefore a person under the law. It was proposed by initiative petition and signed by nearly 460,000 Michigan citizens, 200,000 more than needed.
Robert Muise, the Law Center attorney handling the matter, commented, “States have the right to draw the line between abortion and infanticide. The Legal Birth Definition Act defines the point at which a child is a person under the law and therefore entitled to rights, including the most basic right to life.”
In October 2003, Michigan’s pro-abortion Governor, Jennifer Granholm, vetoed a legislative ban on partial birth abortions. In response, Michigan citizens, through the efforts of STTOP, gathered the nearly 460,000 signatures to adopt the legislation without the governor’s approval. The Legal Birth Definition Act was subsequently passed by a simple majority vote in both the Michigan House and Senate. STTOP’s petition drive was one of the most successful petition drives in recent Michigan history.
On March 1, 2005, the ACLU, Planned Parenthood and other abortion proponents filed a lawsuit in federal court in Detroit, Michigan against the Michigan Attorney General and others, seeking to overturn the will of the people of Michigan, claiming that the Legal Birth Definition Act violates their right to have and perform abortions.
The Law Center sought to intervene in the federal case on behalf of STTOP, arguing that STTOP played a crucial role in enacting this citizen-initiated legislation and has a vested interest in upholding the constitutionality of this law, and further noting that STTOP represents the voice of the citizens of Michigan who have a substantial interest in the protection and preservation of human life.
In September 2005, federal judge, Denise Page Hood, a Clinton appointee, denied the Law Center’s request to intervene on behalf of STTOP and permanently enjoined the Act from taking effect. Judge Hood claimed, in part, that the ban placed “an undue burden on the woman’s right to reproductive choice” by banning “safe” abortion procedures. Both STTOP and the Attorney General appealed the judge’s ruling to the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Ohio.
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, commented, “The recent Ayotte decision by the United States Supreme Court and the Planned Parenthood v. Taft, decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals are clear evidence that the wall protecting abortions is beginning to crumble. If successful, our appeal will add a further crack to that wall. ”
If MI turns red, the Dems have almost no chance of winning in 2008.
Mi could turn Red. Wisconsin probably already is, it was stolen in 2004; Minnesota is leaning Red. Meanwhile the Dems and the MSM are fighting like hell.
All we need is a candidate.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.