Thanks to disastrous Texas and Mississippi abortion bans directly challenging the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court looks poised to overturn it within months.
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. Anti-choice advocateshave touted the law as the most restrictive in the country.
Multiple 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.”
The right to choose hangs in the balance, yet Michiganders still don’t know where the rest of the field is on this critical issue, including most recent entrant Kevin Rinke.
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. She additionally struck down $16 million in funding for anti-abortion measures from Michigan’s budget.
MDP spokesperson Rodericka Applewhaite issued the following statement:
“It’s been one week since the Supreme Court indicated it may gut abortion rights and overturn Roe v. Wade. The second that happens, Michigan will immediately revert to a dangerous law eliminating the reproductive rights of women and families in the state – a disastrous outcome that anti-abortion extremists like James Craig and Tudor Dixon are actively making sure happens. Michiganders deserve answers from the rest of the field on whether they’ll push dangerous restrictions on reproductive rights.”
