An Open Letter to the Michigan House of Representatives re: HB 5711, HB 5712, and HB 5713 - June 11, 2012

                       Link here:  http://bit.ly/L1ctwZ

 
To: The Michigan House of Representatives
From: Lee Tilson
Re: HB 5711, HB 5712, HB 5713
Date: June 11, 2012

Position:  

The Health Policy Committee has not given adequate consideration to 
HB 5711, HB 5712 or HB 5713.  The House of Representatives should
send those bills back to Committee for full hearings.  
_________________________________________________

Introduced on May 31, 2012, House Bills 5711, 5712, and 5713 were
reported out of Committee seven days later, after one short hearing on
Thursday, June 7, 2012. Now, the bills are scheduled for consideration 
by the full House on Tuesday, June 12, 2012,  less than two weeks after 
being introduced. 
 
Over 50 pages in length, the three bills amend more than a dozen existing
statutes and establish many new rules. They amend many sections of the 
public health code and various criminal statutes. Physicians making 
decisions regarding the most complicated pregnancies will risk going to 
jail.
 
Common sense dictates that when complex legislation is being 
considered, hearing all sides allows a better understanding. Fundamental 
fairness requires that all who are affected by legislation be given notice 
and an opportunity to be heard. The notice given of this hearing was
 minimal. Women who opposed the bill had no opportunity to be heard. 

Here are the Committee's own minutes. http://1.usa.gov/LgLoUQ

Dozens of women who opposed the bills were in the audience. However,
the Health Policy Committee only allowed three women to speak. It is not 
coincidence that the three women speakers supported the bills. Not one 
woman who opposed these restrictions on women's rights was allowed 
to address the Committee. 
 
The speed with which the bills are being forced through the legislature 
does not allow thoughtful consideration. These bills could prevent 
physicians from providing appropriate medical care to women after the 
first twenty weeks of pregnancy, even though the pregnancy resulted 
from rape or incest or if the fetus has a fatal condition that will prevent
its survival after birth. Michigan already regulates pregnancy 
terminations so rigidly that the procedure is not available in 83% of the 
state's counties.This package  makes it harder for physicians to help 
women in those counties by phoning prescriptions to their pharmacies.  
 
Michigan citizens deserve better. We deserve to have legislators who 
are willing to listen to both sides of a debate. We deserve to have 
legislators who take time to read, discuss, debate, think about and 
understand the bills on which they are voting. We deserve legislators 
who appreciate that the bills they pass will impact the lives of our 
citizens for decades. 
 
Enacting laws without thoughtful consideration, and especially without 
giving those affected by those laws an opportunity to be heard, 
disrespects all the citizens of this state. 
 
The bills should be sent back to Committee for careful consideration. 
 
Lee Tilson
www.rethinkingpatientsafety.com
Detroit, MI  48208 
rethinkingpatientsafety@gmail.com
 

Links to relevant information sources are provided.