Michigan – About 50 years ago, in 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court supported Roe v. Wade. This decision let American women choose what to do with their reproductive health. In Michigan, this stopped the 1931 law banning abortion and confirmed women’s right to access reproductive health services, like abortion.
On the 51st year since Roe v. Wade, Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer, along with health experts, politicians, and community figures, met to talk about abortion rights. They mentioned that most Americans are in favor of these rights.
Michigan Gov. Whitmer pushed for abortion rights
Gov. Whitmer talked about women who couldn’t get vital medical care and health workers who were threatened for doing their jobs. She said that the choice to have a child is something a woman, her family, and her doctors should decide, not politics.
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Gov. Whitmer and state leaders also warned against a national abortion ban, saying if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House, “things will only get worse.”
“Because we know the ultimate goal is clear, to ban abortion in all 50 states, a national ban is what they are talking about,” Gov. Whitmer said.
“These are American women’s rights, abortion is healthcare rights and we’ve got to push every single day, we’ve got to make Michigan the model for the country,” Congresswoman Haley Stevens (MI-11) added.
Almost half a century after the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, Michigan saw the passage of Proposal 3, known as Reproductive Freedom for All, in 2022. This measure ensures that women in Michigan have comprehensive reproductive rights. These rights encompass a wide range of reproductive health decisions, including choices about prenatal care, childbirth, abortion, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, managing miscarriages, and infertility treatments.
However, in the same year, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, a decision that had stood for 49 years, on June 24. This reversal immediately triggered Michigan’s 1931 law banning abortion.
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This reinstated ban was short-lived. On April 4, 2023, Governor Whitmer signed a bill rendering the 92-year-old ban ineffective.
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Following this, a Reproductive Health Act linked to Proposal 3 was passed eight months later. However, it hasn’t been implemented yet. The delay is due to a stipulation in the Michigan Constitution stating that new laws come into effect 45 days post-election day.
For Michigan OBGYN Dr. Sarah Wallett, there is an anticipation of celebration when this act finally becomes operational.
“We passed Proposal 3, putting the guarantee of reproductive freedom into our state constitution, and in just a few weeks I am going to celebrate as the Reproductive Health Act goes into effect, removing many unnecessary and cruel barriers that have caused harm and suffering to my patients,” Dr. Sarah Wallett, an OBGYN, said.
Separately, Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a statement on Roe v. Wade, saying the case’s anniversary comes “at a pivotal time:” two years after being overturned and on brink of an election. She issued the following statement:
“It reminds us that we cannot rest on our laurels, trusting that the protections which rely solely on judicial precedent will remain constant over time; we must do more to ensure that our essential rights cannot be stolen on the whim of a single court’s opinion. But here in Michigan, we can also take today to celebrate our successes: the historic support in the petitioning and passage of Prop 3 and legislative advancements in repealing harmful laws which undermined the health, safety, and wellbeing of the people of our state.
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“In 2022, when Roe was overturned, my department fought tirelessly to preserve bodily autonomy and personal freedom for all Michigan residents. We have continued that fight to stop efforts to strip away access to mifepristone and misoprostol, and we will continue that fight against any entity, at the local, state, or national level, who attempts to interfere with our ability to make our most private healthcare decisions. I vow to continue to do so for as long as I am in office.”