Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday said she has signed the petition to place on the November ballot a proposal that would guarantee legal access to abortion and other services in Michigan.
Opponents argue the language of the proposed amendment to the state constitution, which would also codify rights to autonomous decisions about contraception, childbirth, miscarriage management and other reproductive concerns, is too broad.
“I don’t think we can make any assumptions that there’s a middle ground here,” Whitmer said in response. “You’re either all in to ensure that women have the ability to make their own decisions, or you’re trying to take that away. And that’s how high the stakes are.”
Whitmer was speaking Wednesday, May 25, at Dodge Park Coney Island in Sterling Heights. There, she met with a select group of mostly women to discuss reproductive rights. The participants spoke openly about their personal experiences with abortion, about childbirth and their fears for a future without legal abortion.
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“I think that we’ve got to be using every tool to protect women and our own health care,” Whitmer said. “And so, I’m glad for the effort around collecting signatures to amend our constitution, I’m glad for the Planned Parenthood lawsuit. I’m glad that we seem to have gotten the Supreme Court’s attention. We are all working toward the same goal.”
Threats to abortion rights in the United States, recently confirmed by a leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion published by Politico, have inspired a flurry of activity in Michigan, which has a 91-year-old law unenforced for nearly 50 years that makes abortion illegal in almost all circumstances.
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The Michigan Supreme Court agreed last week to consider Whitmer’s pending lawsuit against prosecutors in the 13 state counties with abortion clinics.
In a separate but related case filed by Planned Parenthood, the Michigan Court of Claims granted a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking any abortion ban until the case against the state attorney general is resolved.
RELATED: Gov. Whitmer orders state agencies, departments to protect abortion access in Michigan
Meanwhile, the Reproductive Freedom for All coalition, formed by Planned Parenthood and others, is hoping to ask voters to change the Michigan constitution to say, in part: “Every individual has a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which entails the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management, and infertility care.”
It continues: “An individual’s right to reproductive freedom shall not be denied, burdened, nor infringed upon unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”
The most profound decision a woman will make in a lifetime is when and whether to have a child, Whitmer said.
“And only she knows the circumstances that she is confronting, where she is at, (what) her abilities are… these are heavy, hard decisions,” she said.
As it is now, full reproductive health care is safe. “We want to make sure it continues to be safe, rare and informed,” Whitmer said.
“And that’s precisely what we have right now in Michigan. And all that is being threatened and being ripped away from women.”
Whitmer urged the people gathered to take a weekend to gather signatures or register voters. She encouraged them to inform others.
“I do think we’re on the right side of the issue,” she said. “The majority of people see the world the same way we do on this issue. But they don’t know, because they’re just trying to keep their head above water and live their lives and get their kids back on track. They don’t know what the real threat is.”
Whitmer spoke Wednesday to a receptive group.
“I think my biggest fear is the type of environment and the message that we’re sending to our daughters, their importance in life, their importance to be able to contribute to their households. It is such a huge financial and emotional decision to start a family. And that should be an if and when decision for everyone,” said Danielle Vivio, a White Lake teacher.
It is “horrifying” that a rollback is even under consideration, she said.
How will the state law be enforced? Michelle Halsband, an Oakland County engineer, asked. How will it be known who is or is not pregnant?
“I mean, just the entire idea of this invasive monitoring of women,” Halsband said. “It’s upsetting to me.”
Life at conception is a “religious opinion,” she said. “It should not be legislated.”
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