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Abortion rights activists dress up as characters from The Handmaid's Tale at a protest.
Advocates on both sides of the abortion debate reacted strongly to the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade on Tuesday.
Democrats in Michigan pledged to protect abortion rights, while Republicans either applauded the conservative justices or stayed quiet.
A lot is at stake. Experts say Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban would be enforceable if Roe v. Wade is overturned. The law was rendered unconstitutional following the landmark 1973 Supreme Court case.
“Women are waking up this morning feeling hopeless; but we can’t go back,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer tweeted Tuesday morning. “I’m more motivated than ever to keep fighting like hell to ensure abortion remains safe and accessible in Michigan.”
There are two attempts to block the law in Michigan. In a lawsuit filed on April 7, Whitmer is urging courts to reject the law and resolve whether abortion is protected by the state’s constitution.
On Tuesday, she called the lawsuit “more critical than ever.”
Reproductive Freedom for All, a coalition of advocacy organizations, also launched a petition drive in March to amend the state constitution to affirm abortion rights. To place the initiative on the November ballot, the group must collect more than 424,000 signatures by mid-July.
“If the Supreme Court overturns Roe, every person in Michigan will be impacted,” American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan Executive Director Loren Khogali said in a statement. “We must have the right to make reproductive health care decisions for ourselves including when and if to have a child. To keep abortion and reproductive freedoms legal in Michigan we are taking up this fight ourselves to put Reproductive Freedom for All on the November ballot.”
The potential Supreme Court decision elevates the importance of elections this year. In the Michigan attorney general race, Matt DePerno, a Republican endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has repeatedly said he supports an abortion ban that provides no exception for victims of rape or incest.
"I join with all who value life and am hopeful for Roe v Wade to be overturned," DePerno tweeted. "This will be such a great win for the unborn and for states' rights. The courts must never overstep the bounds of the Constitution."
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who will face DePerno in the November election, said her challenger is a threat to women.
“Women in Michigan should be terrified right now,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel tweeted. “Vote like your life depends on it.”
On the federal level, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, is calling on the Senate to pass legislation that would enact abortion rights as law. The House approved the legislation in the fall.
“This will endanger the very people who need access to legal abortion,” Tlaib tweeted of the Supreme Court decision. “The Senate must pass the House legislation to codify Roe, #AbolishTheFilibuster, and #ExpandSCOTUS. Safe abortions are still legal and we must keep it that way.”
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, who spoke openly in October 2020 about his wife’s medically necessary abortion, said he’s heard from numerous women who “needed this life-saving emergency medical procedure.”
“I can’t reiterate this enough: this decision — if true — will result in very real and tragic consequences for people from all walks of life. And it sends a horrible signal for the future of our country,” Peters tweeted. “But let me be clear: I’ll never — ever — give up this fight. It’s why I support codifying #RoeVWade into law. For all those who had the courage to share their story — and for all those still living with the trauma — this is not and cannot be the end.”
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, called the looming Supreme Court decision “outrageous.”
“Overturning #RoeVWade will have extreme consequences for women across the country,” Stabenow said.
In a statement Tuesday morning, President Joe Biden emphasized the role politics play in abortion rights.
“If the Court does overturn Roe, it will fall on our nation’s elected officials at all levels of government to protect a woman’s right to choose,” Biden said. “And it will fall on voters to elect pro-choice officials in November. At the federal level, we will need more pro-choice Senators and a pro-choice majority in the House to adopt legislation that codifies Roe, which I work to pass and sign into law.”
In the gubernatorial race, all of the Republican candidates have previously said they support a ban on abortions.
But only a few of them have spoken out since news broke about the Supreme Court’s draft opinion.
“If true, I believe the Supreme Court acted properly by letting the people of Michigan make their own decision,” businessman and gubernatorial candidate Kevin Rinke said. “As governor, I will ensure that Michigan is a state that respects the sanctity of life.”
Gubernatorial candidate Garrett Soldano, a Kalamazoo-area chiropractor, tweeted, “Life is winning.”
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes denounced the field of Republican gubernatorial candidates, saying their support of the abortion ban is insensitive and dangerous.
“The reproductive freedom of Michigan women hangs in the balance more than ever before,” Barnes said in a statement. “No state in the union will feel the brunt of this upcoming ruling quite like Michigan – where a dangerous and draconian near-total ban from 1931 is most likely days from being fully back on the books. This immediate and massive impact on the reproductive freedom of millions of women and families has already been underscored by the callous glee with which every single gubernatorial Republican has looked forward to this disastrous outcome and pushed an extreme anti-choice agenda that makes no exception for rape, incest, or the health of the mother.”
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