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Michigan group will submit petitions to ban abortion method

Posted at 1:30 PM, Dec 23, 2019
and last updated 2019-12-23 14:31:33-05

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A ballot group is planning to submit petitions to prohibit a second-trimester abortion procedure in Michigan. The Michigan Values Life committee says it will turn in nearly 380,000 voter signatures to the state on Monday.

It needs roughly 340,000 signatures. If the petitions are certified as valid, the Republican-led Legislature will have a 40-day window to pass the initiative, and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer can't veto it. The dilation and evacuation procedure was used in 7% of abortions in Michigan last year.

Anti-abortion groups call it “dismemberment.” Abortion-rights groups say the procedure is safe and constitutional.