Even as the issue remains at top of mind for voters across Michigan, Tudor Dixon is doing everything in her power to distract millions of women and families from her dangerous, anti-abortion agenda that makes no exceptions for rape, incest, or health of the mother.
According to recent reporting from MLive, a “frustrated” Dixon – who has been pushing the “confusi[ng]” lie that reproductive rights are “not something that the governor has any impact over” – spent the weekend trying to change the conversation to anything else.
Endorsed by special interest groups Susan B. Anthony List, Michigan Right to Life, and National Right to Life, her distraction routine isn’t squaring with her own extensively-documented commitment to use the governor’s office to advance anti-choice policies.
In line with her belief that a near total abortion ban from 1931 is a “good law,” Dixon has called the ballot proposal that would codify the reproductive healthcare protections laid out in Roe v. Wade in Michigan’s constitution “extreme.” Reinforcing her “no exceptions” stance, she’s also said that child sexual assault victims should not have access to abortion because there’s “healing through that baby.”
See excerpts below from MLive on Dixon’s attempts to distract Michiganders from her dangerous plan to ban abortion and read the full report here.
MLive: Tudor Dixon Asks to Set Abortion Aside From Michigan Governor’s Race
By Simon Schuster
In front of thousands of supporters and a host of media, Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon implored supporters to separate the issue of abortion access from her gubernatorial campaign.
“Gretchen Whitmer is out there saying that I’m going to be able to do something about that issue in this state,” Dixon said at the rally. “As you all know, it’s on the ballot, it’s been decided by a judge, don’t let her bright shiny thing distract from the fact that she has done nothing but hurt this state.” […]
Dixon’s campaign is working against tens of millions of dollars from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and allied organizations that have blanketed airwaves since the primary focusing in on abortion and attacking Dixon for her stance.
Dixon’s campaign has yet to air a broadcast ad since the Aug. 2 gubernatorial primary.
“It shouldn’t be an issue for the gubernatorial race, but she hasn’t come out with a plan, so she’s trying to run against me on that,” Dixon said while speaking to reporters after her speech. She played down the large financial resources of her opponent.
Her campaign has been frustrated by Whitmer’s incessant invocation of abortion on the campaign trail and in ads, according to two sources close to the campaign.
In a statement, Whitmer spokesperson Maeve Coyle kept on hammering.
“Tudor Dixon calls Michigan’s 1931 ban a ‘good law,’ and if she were governor right now, doctors and nurses would be facing jail sentences and women and girls who are victims of rape and incest would not be able to get care,” Coyle said. “She is lying to Michiganders because she knows her dangerous plan to ban abortion without exceptions is out-of-step.”
Dixon has said she believes abortion should only be allowed to save the life of the mother. If Proposal 3 passes, the constitution would have to be amended again to prohibit the procedure.
Proposal 3 would enshrine access to abortion and reproductive health care as a right in Michigan’s constitution if a majority of voters approve it.
Multiple polls have found abortion to be top of mind for Michigan voters and Democrats are relying heavily on the pro-choice furor following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade to bolster turnout and counter a souring economy under President Joe Biden.
While Dixon’s personal belief is that the proposal is extreme, and readily disparages it in front of media, the campaign is striving to distance Dixon and voter focus from the issue.
Her speech was a litany of grievances against Whitmer’s first term in office, with each recollection accompanied by a promise to do something else, but offered little detail about her own plans if elected. […]
