Today, State Representatives Rachel Hood (HD-81) and David LaGrand (HD-75) and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan board member Denavvia Mojet gathered in Grand Rapids to blast Republicans’ extreme anti-abortion agenda as part of a national “Defend Choice” Week of Action.
Speakers emphasized the need to elect Democrats up and down the ballot who will fight for reproductive health access. As Republicans push to enforce Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban, it’s more important than ever that we re-elect Governor Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel, and elect a Democratic majority in Congress and Michigan state legislature to defend against the relentless assault on reproductive rights.
The message today was clear: we must elect pro-choice Democrats up and down the ballot if we want to defend access to safe, legal abortions and protect reproductive health care.
“The entire Michigan GOP has decided to go against a majority of Michiganders by gleefully praising the Supreme Court’s decision, actively calling for the 1931 abortion ban to be reinstated, and writing legislation that would put doctors and people who can give birth in jail for seeking the abortion care they need. Make no mistake: we are here because of the Republican Party and their decades-long attack on reproductive care, and it’ll only get worse if we don’t re-elect Democrats up and down the ballot who will protect it,” said State Representative Rachel Hood (HD-81). “Unless we vote like our rights depend on it in November, everything will change in Michigan in just a few short months”
“Voters get to choose and decide what kind of state they live in and we are going to have an opportunity in November where […] choice is going to be on the ballot.”said State Representative David LaGrand (HD-75). “We have to have a pro-choice majority in the Michigan Senate and we have to have a pro-choice majority in the Michigan House. Both of those chambers need a Democratic majority that is on the side of women and every single person who values freedom, and against restrictions on bodily autonomy, women’s health, and women’s rights.”
“Low-income families and communities of color who may not have the resources necessary to make very hard decisions about traveling out of state for care will be forced to make decisions that are terrifying. [That’s why] we need elected officials who trust us to choose what’s best for our families,” said Denavvia Mojet. “This November, I’m asking people to go to the ballot and choose staunch Democrats who are pro-choice so that we can have a pro-choice majority up and down the ballot. In the same way we trust voters to show up in November and choose what’s best for them and their communities, we want elected officials who believe that women deserve the exact same right with their bodies.”
