LANSING, Mich. (June 25, 2025) — In the face of ongoing assaults on reproductive health care at the federal level and in states across the country, today, Michigan Senate Democrats passed legislation to protect both those seeking access to reproductive health care and the medical professionals who provide it. Sponsored by Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), Senate Bills 154–155 seek to establish a state-level Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, ensuring patients here in Michigan can get the care they need, when they need it — without intimidation or fear of harm.
“Everyone should feel safe entering their doctor’s office, whether for a routine physical, cancer treatment, knee surgery, or yes — reproductive care,” said Sen. McMorrow. “While federal protections are being actively dismantled and pardoned away, here in Michigan, we’re working to ensure patients in our state can access legal medical care without fear of physical obstruction or harassment, and providers can practice medicine without facing violence or intimidation.”
Senate Bills 154-155 would protect the rights and safety of women and families in Michigan by making it a criminal offense to interfere with access to a health facility that provides reproductive health services, including abortion providers and fertility clinics such as IVF facilities, whether through intimidation, physical obstruction, or other means. If such interference results in bodily harm or death, it would carry even harsher penalties under the proposed law.
Sen. McMorrow’s legislation comes as a response to a rollback of clinic protections at the local, state, and federal levels, including the Trump administration’s January pardon of 23 anti-abortion activists. That same month, Republican Congressman from Texas, Chip Roy, introduced legislation to repeal the federal FACE Act, which passed with strong bipartisan support 30 years ago following the 1993 murder of abortion provider Dr. David Gunn, who was shot by an anti-abortion extremist in Florida. If this act were to be dismantled, patients and providers would be left without protections unless the states act.
Four of the activists Trump pardoned earlier this year were from Michigan, convicted in August 2024 for physically blocking access to a Sterling Heights reproductive health clinic in 2020 despite police orders to leave. Among the victims of this incident was a married couple seeking necessary medical care after learning their fetus had fatal abnormalities and the wife’s health was at risk.
A similar piece of legislation, House Bill 4133, was introduced by Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia). Senate Bills 154-155 now head to the House for further consideration.