Governor acts to protect Michiganders’ constitutional rights
LANSING, Mich., April 7, 2022 — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced today she will appeal directly to the Michigan Supreme Court to decide the constitutionality of the 1931 abortion ban state law. House Democrats stand firm in their support of Whitmer and other partners as they fight in the courts to protect access to health care.
“We join the governor in her appeal to our Supreme Court to declare this arcane and cruel law unconstitutional,” said House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski (D-Scio Township). “Michiganders have a constitutional right to the full spectrum of reproductive health care choices and in declaring this right we protect their economic and personal freedom. The liberty of Michiganders must be protected from political persecution invading their doctor’s office.”
In November 2021, the Michigan Progressive Women’s Caucus introduced the Reproductive Health Act, a comprehensive bill that would put the right to abortion and other reproductive health care into state law. The RHA affirms House Democrats’ commitment to ensuring the rights and freedoms of Michiganders to make their own health care decisions.
“The state-level abortion ban, still on the books 49 years after being deemed federally unconstitutional in the Roe v. Wade decision, is an oppressive artifact of the culture and worldview of 1931, the year it was made law,” said state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia), chair of the Progressive Women’s Caucus. “We stand with Gov. Whitmer to declare reproductive health care a constitutional right, as has long been settled, and to defend the liberty of all Michiganders. Countless advocates and activists have come before us fighting to change the world they saw nearly one hundred years ago, in 1931, to build a more inclusive world and grant everyone in our state bodily autonomy. We stand with them today as well in support of reproductive freedom in Michigan using all available means, including these lawsuits, legislation and ballot initiatives.”