LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion which indicates the nation’s highest court may return the landmark case Roe v. Wade back to the states is putting abortion rights front and center in Michigan’s August and November elections.
Right to Life of Michigan, the state’s most prominent anti-abortion PAC, has endorsed many candidates in the last week, including GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon. A complete list of endorsements can be found here.
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel have been outspoken about not enforcing any abortion restrictions if Roe is returned to individual states. Whitmer has filed a lawsuit with the Michigan Supreme Court asking it to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s Constitution.
In May, Court of Claims Judge Elizabeth Gleicher ordered an injunction against Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban and said “forced pregnancy … contravenes the right to make autonomous medical decisions.”
Attorney David Kallman said Judge Gleicher issued the injunction “out of thin air” and filed a countersuit on behalf of two prosecutors.
“All this means is [Attorney General Dana Nessel] cannot prosecute anyone under this abortion statute, but no one is being prosecuted any way a because no one is prosecuted under Roe v. Wade,” Kallman said. “It’s a meaningless gesture and [they] are trying to create new law through a phantom case.”
Meanwhile, an initiative called “Michigan Right to Reproductive Freedom” could appear on November’s ballot.
A coalition of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, ACLU of Michigan and Michigan Voices needs 425,059 valid signatures by July 11 to create the ballot initiative asking voters to approve a Constitutional amendment assuring abortion rights in Michigan.
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Michigan’s primary election is Tuesday, August 2; the general election is Tuesday, November 8.
