LANSING – A bill that would protect pregnant women from being coerced into having an abortion cleared a state House Committee on Tuesday, though some Democrats on the panel said women who want to terminate their pregnancies often need help, too.

With votes along party lines, a package of Republican-backed bills moved from the Families, Children and Seniors Committee, making it a crime to force a woman into an abortion, either through assaults or threats to her person or employment.

Edward Rivet II, legislative director for Right to Life of Michigan, said the bills create a process for clinics to better screen women before they undergo the procedure to determine if they are being forced.

“A lot of times there is intimidation before the women even make it to the clinic,” he said after the hearing.

But Democrats argued that there already are laws on the books to deal with assault, stalking and other harassment, and such protections don’t go away because women are pregnant.

State Rep. Maureen Stapleton, D-Detroit, attempted to amend each of the bill, looking to add protections for women who are coerced to remain pregnant.

“We should be willing to protect women from all types of coercion,” she said. “As it is now, these bills are examples of political and religious ideology.”

Rep. Marilyn Lane, D-Fraser, passed on voting, saying she wanted law enforcement aspects addressed in amendments on the House floor.

She noted that a representative of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police testified that while the organization doesn’t have a position on the bills, a law might be redundant and unenforceable.

E-mail Dave Murray: dmurray@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ReporterDMurray