Lansing Update: Good And Bad Developments in the Effort to Protect Human Life
Posted May 16, 2025
Judge’s Ruling Against Abortion Limits Direct Result of Proposal 3
A state judge this week struck down decades-old laws requiring information be provided to women prior to an abortion, which MCC noted is a direct consequence to the passage of the Proposal 3 constitution amendment in 2022.
In the case Northland Family Planning Center v. Nessel, Judge Sima Patel declared unconstitutional a 1993 state law requiring a 24-hour waiting period prior to an abortion and another that provides educational material about abortion risks to women. The ruling also invalidates a requirement that only licensed physicians perform abortions.
The laws were overturned based on the constitutional nature of Proposal 3, which carried language with broad protections for “reproductive freedom” and required that state restrictions on abortion cannot, among other hurdles, “infringe on that individual’s autonomous decision-making.”
In a statement issued by MCC in response to the ruling, Paul A. Long, president and CEO of MCC, said, “Today the broader public is seeing more clearly that the intent of the 2022 ballot proposal was not to ‘protect what was legal under Roe,’ but rather to grant constitutional protections to an industry that places itself above the health and safety of women and the lives of pre-born children.”
Readers of Lansing Update are familiar with the fact that some of these same laws overturned by the judge were preserved from repeal in a wide-ranging legislative package passed in 2023, due to a lack of support from even pro-abortion rights lawmakers.
Meanwhile, efforts to overturn existing abortion restrictions through the courts continue, as the ACLU has filed suit to end a1988 law that prohibits the state from using taxpayer dollars—via the state Medicaid program—to pay for abortions.
Abortion supporters have also publicly stated their intention to seek repeal of the state’s 1990 parental consent law, which requires children younger than 18 to have the permission of a parent prior to procuring an abortion.
Tax Break for Preborn Children Receives MCC Support in House Hearing
A bill recognizing the personhood of preborn children by granting a tax exemption to pregnant women received MCC support during a House committee this week.
House Bill 4202, sponsored by Rep. Gina Johnsen (R-Lake Odessa), would allow for an exemption from personal income for women who are at least 10 weeks pregnant on the last day of the tax year. For the 2025 tax year, this exemption would be worth $5,800.
To qualify for the additional exemption, the pregnant woman would have to attach a medical statement signed and dated by the physician verifying the pregnancy to their annual tax return.
MCC supports this legislation because it would support mothers and families and recognizes the humanity of preborn children.
The House Finance Committee took testimony only on the bill this week.
MCC-Backed School Safety Bills Receive Bipartisan Approval in House
A slate of school safety policy bills supported by MCC passed the full state House this week, all on overwhelmingly bipartisan votes.
As part of the package, both public and nonpublic school staff would receive training on school safety procedures, which the state would be required to develop and provide for schools. Another bill requires schools to create a school crisis team and emergency operations plans.
Other parts of the package would expand requirements around the reporting of information received to the state’s anonymous tip line for school students and staff to report threats.
The bills approved by the House include House Bills 4222, 4223, 4225, 4226, 4229, 4258, 4259, and 4315.
Senate Budgets Move Forward Without Nonpublic School Funds
The full Senate this week approved its version of next year’s school spending budget bill, with the majority of members rejecting several proposed amendments to include essential health and safety funding for nonpublic schools.
The Senate’s proposed budget lacks provisions that are currently funded in the current year budget – including $1.5 million in grants to invest in school security upgrades and mental health services, as well as $1 million for nonpublic schools to be reimbursed for complying with state-mandated health and safety regulations.
The House has yet to propose or pass any bills related to its version of next year’s budget, which begins October 1. The Senate, as of this week, has now approved all the bills that would constitute its budget proposal.
Our New Pope Is a Michigan Pope—Here’s Why
Upon news of Pope Leo’s election to the Chair of St. Peter, it was quickly discovered the new pope had a connection to west Michigan—perhaps not a surprise, given he was born and raised in Chicago.
However, as it turns out, the Holy Father’s connection to our state runs deeper than initially thought. Over the past week, numerous stories of Pope Leo’s visits to various Michigan places have been revealed.
In addition to his time studying at a former high school seminary in Holland within the Diocese of Kalamazoo, it was also revealed by the Diocese of Lansing that he had filled in as a visiting priest at St. Matthew Parish in Flint—baptizing a baby there, too.
The now adult who received baptism at the hands of the future pontiff was tracked down in Florida by a local news outlet, who reported that she’s planning on inviting Pope Leo to her wedding too.
Detroit Catholic reported on another significant Pope Leo tie to Michigan: He was ordained to the diaconate, on his way to the sacred priesthood, at St. Clare of Montefalco in Grosse Pointe Park.
“Normally, transitional deacon ordinations for the Midwest Augustinians were celebrated in Chicago, but for various reasons, the ordination that year was to take place in southeast Michigan, at one of three Augustinian-run parishes in the Archdiocese of Detroit at the time,” according to the article. “And so, on Sept. 10, 1981, the future Pope Leo XIV entered holy orders right here in southeast Michigan.”
While other stories may very well come forward, it’s fair to say now that Pope Leo XIV is, in fact, a Michigan pope.