'Time to finish the job': Michigan abortion rights advocates unveil legislative agenda

Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press
Updated ·3 min read
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Abortion rights proponents see troubling inequities in abortion access stemming from Michigan laws they argue conflict with the state constitutional amendment voters passed last fall enshrining the right to an abortion. They want lawmakers to repeal those laws with a "Reproductive Health Act" this fall.

"Many laws remain in place that deprive people of their constitutional right to reproductive health care," said American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan Executive Director Loren Khogali during a news briefing Monday.

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan Interim Executive Director Paula Thornton Greear said when voters approved the abortion rights ballot proposal last year, "this is not the future they envisioned."

"Because while Michiganders now have the legal right to reproductive freedom, it's time to finish the job, and ensure that they also have meaningful access," she said.

Right to Life of Michigan, a group that opposes abortion rights, blasted the legislative agenda laid out Monday. "The proposed removal of common-sense regulations serves the interests of the abortion industry, not women seeking abortions," said Genevieve Marnon, legislative director of Right to Life of Michigan, in a statement Monday.

Taylor Belyea, 22, of Shelby Township, left, Sarah Miller Schrage 36, of Grosse Pointe Park, Lisa DeBlasi, 52, of Clinton Township, and Tamara Lopes, 44, of Southfield, applaud during a Yes on Proposal 3 campaign watch party at the David Whitney Building in downtown Detroit on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.
Taylor Belyea, 22, of Shelby Township, left, Sarah Miller Schrage 36, of Grosse Pointe Park, Lisa DeBlasi, 52, of Clinton Township, and Tamara Lopes, 44, of Southfield, applaud during a Yes on Proposal 3 campaign watch party at the David Whitney Building in downtown Detroit on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.

Michigan abortion rights amendment

Last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, reversing the landmark decision that guaranteed a national constitutional right to abortion for nearly half a century.

Michigan voters subsequently passed Proposal 3 establishing in the Michigan Constitution a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which includes the right to seek abortions in the state. It passed with the support of 57% of Michigan voters who participated in last year's midterm election.

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Michigan lawmakers repeal state laws

Following the passage of Proposal 3, state lawmakers passed legislation to repeal abortion restrictions on the books and protect abortion access.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer repealed the 1931 Michigan law that makes it a felony to administer most abortions with no exception for rape or incest. She also repealed a law that makes it a misdemeanor to sell or advertise medication for an abortion and another that makes it a misdemeanor to publish or sell pamphlets or books with "recipes or prescriptions for drops, pills, tinctures, or other compounds" for contraception and abortions. Along with those changes, she removed abortion-related felonies from the state's criminal code.

Whitmer also amended the state's civil rights law, barring employers from discriminating based on an individual's decision to terminate a pregnancy.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signs legislation to repeal the 1931 abortion ban statute, which criminalized abortion in nearly all cases during a bill signing ceremony, Wednesday, April 5, 2023, in Birmingham, Mich. The abortion ban, which fueled one of the largest ballot drives in state history, had been unenforceable after voters enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution last November. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

What abortion rights advocates want

Abortion rights proponents in Michigan said they're working with state lawmakers who could introduce legislation this fall targeting remaining state laws targeting abortion access.

The changes they're eyeing include repealing a state law requiring a patient seeking an abortion to wait 24 hours, state laws limiting insurance of coverage of abortion and regulations for clinics that provide abortions they argue are designed to make it difficult to operate and open new centers.

Khogali of the ACLU of Michigan also noted that the organization she leads has fought to remove Michigan's parental consent law for minors seeking abortions for years. "We continue to advocate and educate around parental notification, and we will continue to do so even if a bill is introduced that does not include it," she said.

Greear said that Michigan's laws have ramifications for those who don't live in the state. "The problem these restrictions cause continues to be compounded by the ever-growing surge of patients coming to Michigan from other states where abortion is severely restricted or outright banned," she said.

Contact Clara Hendrickson: chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan abortion rights proponents seek 'Reproductive Health Act'