Following last month’s consideration of two cases directly challenging the constitutionality of the disastrous Texas abortion ban, today the U.S. Supreme Court appeared poised to overturn Roe v. Wade as they heard oral arguments in a case surrounding Mississippi’s ban.
That means that Michigan’s next governor would be the last line of defense in the fight for reproductive rights. Michigan has a near-total abortion ban from 1931 that would go back into effect. The law criminalizes abortion, makes felons out of reproductive health care providers, and provides no exceptions for rape or incest – the most restrictive law in the country according to Right to Life of Michgan.
A number of the GOP candidates for governor have already pledged to take Michigan backwards should they be elected:
- Tudor Dixon has offered her full-throated, unequivocal support for the 1931 law and added that as governor she would support any anti-choice legislation that hit her desk without regard for rape or incest exceptions.
- James Craig pledged to protect Michigan’s anti-choice law by whatever means necessary, stating that he “is unapologetically pro-life and opposes liberal efforts for abortion on demand, late term abortions, and partial birth abortions.”
As the right to choose hangs in the balance, Michiganders deserve to know where the rest of the field, including most recent entrant Kevin Rinke, stand on this critical issue.
In contrast, Governor Whitmer immediately snapped into action to protect Michiganders after the Texas news broke, calling on the legislature to repeal the 1931 bill at the beginning of this month. She additionally struck down $16 million in funding for anti-abortion measures from Michigan’s budget.
MDP spokesperson Rodericka Applewhaite issued the following statement:
“As the Supreme Court appears ready to to gut Roe v. Wade, the right to choose becomes more endangered than ever. What’s worse, Michigan still has a dangerous law on the books that would immediately eliminate the reproductive rights of women and families in the state. Anti-choice extremists like Tudor Dixon and James Craig are more than happy to make that a reality, and Michiganders deserve answers from the rest of the field on whether they’ll allow abortion to be outlawed in the state”
