LANSING — A rally at the state Capitol protesting legislation that would limit abortion clinic abuses apparently signals the end of pro-abortion rights advocates’ “safe, legal and rare” slogan, said the Michigan Catholic Conference.

The rally against House Bill 5711, which passed the chamber in June and would mandate closer inspection of the state’s 32 abortion clinics and require licensure for the majority of them, indicates the abortion lobby’s slogan is “more political than practical,” said Rebecca Mastee, the MCC’s policy advocate.

The Michigan Catholic Conference is the official public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Michigan.

Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit is its chairman.

“These organizations would rather a woman undergo a major surgical procedure at a clinic that may or may not meet Third World standards than ensure her health and safety by bringing such facilities in line with any other outpatient surgical facility,” Mastee said.

According to a March Senate committee hearing, while 99 percent of abortions in Michigan were performed at clinics in 2010, just four of the state’s 32 clinics are licensed, and most are rarely or never inspected — a revelation that inspired House Bill 5711. It would reclassify clinics that perform six or more abortions per month as “freestanding surgical outpatient facilities” and require them to meet the same standards as other surgical outpatient facilities — including licensure.

“The protesters are on the wrong side of the issue and, more importantly, on the wrong side of women’s health,” Mastee said.

The bill passed the House 70-39 with bipartisan support and awaits consideration from the Senate Judiciary Committee.