On July 3rd, 2019 the Michigan Heartbeat Coalition officially launched its Citizens-Initiated Petition.  This petition mirrors the language of House Bill 4664, which was introduced with 30 cosponsors in the House.  Commonly referred to as the “Heartbeat Bill”, it seeks to protect babies with beating hearts – it’s designed to be the arrow in the heart of Roe v. Wade.

Earlier this year Governor Whitmer promised to veto any pro-life legislation that comes across her desk.  This is where Michigan’s “Citizens-Initiated Petition” law comes into play – once we collect the 340,000 valid signatures, all it takes is a simple majority vote in the House and Senate and HB 4664 becomes Michigan law, bypassing the Governor completely!

The simplicity of the bill is what many attribute to its viral success. “If a heartbeat is detected, the baby’s protected” is the common phrase first used by the bills originator, Janet Porter. With the launch of this petition drive the Coalition plans to collect nearly 500,000 signatures to ensure that the threshold of 340,000 valid signatures is met.

As one of the states covered by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Michigan is in an excellent spot to play an integral role in the nationwide fight against abortion. The 6th Circuit Court is our nation’s strongest pro-life Circuit Court! A little over a week ago when upholding the Kentucky Ultrasound Bill the court referenced “unborn child” or ” unborn life” 30 times. Even more importantly they went on to approvingly cite another circuit court’s decision that stated “abortion terminates the life of a whole separate, unique, living human being.” COULD A UNANIMOUS 6TH CIRCUIT BE OUR PATH WAY TO TAKE DOWN ROE?

Tennessee is expected to pass their heartbeat bill in the next month. Once that happens it all rests on Michigan to make the 6th circuit unanimous in our effort to protect life. It’s like placing a giant billboard on the front lawn of the Supreme Court.