Courtesy photo
An anonymous group decided to cover an anti-abortion message with their own that reads: “WE WILL AID & ABET ABORTION.”
Reproductive rights activists weren’t having it after an anti-abortion billboard went up on Detroit’s west side.
An anonymous group decided to cover the anti-abortion message with their own that reads: “WE WILL AID & ABET ABORTION.”
Previously, the billboard read, “DO NOT SIGN THIS PETITION. Reproductive Freedom For All. PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN.”
The original advertisement was sponsored by Michigan Right to Life - LIFESPAN and included a photo of a doe-eyed Black baby with a pacifier in its mouth. An interesting (and also obnoxious) choice considering so-called pro-lifers seem to forget about the welfare of children after they are actually born.
It references the Michigan Reproductive Freedom for All petition to get reproductive rights on the November ballot.
The activists who covered the billboard said in an email to Metro Times they are an anonymous and unaffiliated group of individuals who believe that bodily autonomy is a fundamental human right.
“We refuse to stand by as radical evangelicals and political blowhards exploit birthing people in a shameful grab for power,” the email reads. “We refuse to acquiesce when the lives and futures of American families, children, and individuals hang in the balance. We will protest, disrupt, and will vote those out of power who do not fight for us.”
The group is calling for people to sign the Michigan Reproductive Freedom for All petition and fund organizations that provide travel, food, lodging, and other support for people seeking abortions. Those organizations are The Brigid Alliance, Midwest Acess Coalition, and the Apiary for Practical Support.
Michigan has pretty much been the wild, wild, west ever since Roe v. Wade was overturned a week ago, causing confusion over the state’s outdated 1931 abortion ban. Attorney General Dana Nessel has said that her office will not prosecute abortions, activists are taking to the streets, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is pressing the Michigan Supreme Court to decide whether the state constitution protects abortion rights, and Reproductive Freedom for All has already gathered more than enough signatures to get on the November ballot.
In the meantime, a preliminary injunction issued by a Michigan Court of Claims judge against the 1931 law has kept abortion legal in the state. For now.
The anonymous billboard hijackers also demand that civil servants and healthcare providers comply with said injunction — clearly a callout to Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker, who said he would follow the 1931 abortion law and prosecute doctors who perform abortions.
“While we hope Michigan voters choose to protect abortion access should they get the opportunity to vote for the constitutional amendment — we are communicating absolute noncompliance with any abortion restriction regardless of what the courts rule and what prosecutors decide they will enforce,” the group wrote. “We don't need the permission of the state. We're going to have abortions using medication, safely, and on our own terms, forever. Unjust laws are meant to be broken. We will collectively create access — We will Aid and Abet Abortion!”
To locate the nearest abortion clinic, see inneedana.com. For confidential support for miscarriage and abortion with volunteer clinicians or information about abortion pulls, see mahotline.org.
Stay connected with Detroit Metro Times. Subscribe to our newsletters, and follow us on Google News, Apple News, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, or TikTok.
