LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Republicans in the Michigan House are trying to revive abortion reporting requirements that vanished last year under the Democrats’ Reproductive Health Act – but this time, adding a lockbox for privacy and a felony for snooping to their legislation.
House Bills 5201 through 5203 would reinstate mandatory reporting of abortion data in Michigan – a practice already used in 46 other states and the District of Columbia – while explicitly prohibiting personal identifiers such as names, addresses, and Social Security numbers. Without this information, state officials argue, Michigan lacks the tools to track patient safety and to provide policymakers with reliable data needed for informed healthcare decisions.
Bill reinstates abortion reporting requirements with new privacy safeguards.
Under the legislation from sponsor Rep. Brad Paquette (R-Niles), House Bill 5201 would amend the Public Health Code to once again require reporting of abortion data. Specifically, it would collect 19 data points such as demographics, medical details, and circumstances and allow annual publication of aggregate statistical data. Providers would have seven days to report anonymized data to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which would then destroy it after five years. Unauthorized disclosure would be a felony.
Paquette says in a press release, “We’ve worked to ensure this legislation protects patient privacy while giving health officials and policymakers the data they need to make informed decisions,” Paquette said. “My hope is that the information will lead to policies that help women choose life.”
Rep. Jennifer Wortz (R-Quincy), who added a companion bill to track abortion-related complications, says, “Abortion is not a risk-free procedure.”
Testimony for and against.
Many organizations were on hand at Wednesday’s hearing at the state’s House Health Policy Committee meeting to discuss the issue. Dr. Kate Starr, interim chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood of Michigan, urged lawmakers to reject House Bills 5201–5203, arguing they would single out abortion care, impose unnecessary administrative burdens, and force providers to “interrogate patients so they can deliver deeply personal and highly sensitive patient information to the state.”
She told the House Health Policy Committee that abortion care is already safe, highly regulated, and supported by decades of research, and warned that the proposed reporting requirements would violate patient trust, deter vulnerable patients – especially those traveling from restrictive states. Starr also emphasized that the measures contradict the intent of Michigan voters who approved Proposal 3 and the subsequent Reproductive Health Act, saying the bills represent a political intrusion into private medical decisions.
Genevieve Marnon, Legislative Director and Senior Policy Advisor for Right to Life of Michigan, also gave testimony saying, “The restoration of abortion complication reporting in Michigan is an essential step forward in ensuring women do not go into abortion blind” stating that the data demonstrates the risks of the procedure. She added that Michigan women are being denied the basic right to facts on abortion complications and that transparency is needed.
As lawmakers weigh the proposals, the debate remains divided between those who view the bills as essential public-health oversight and those who see them as a rollback of voter-approved abortion protections.
