Your Week in metro Detroit: Women's rights under debate

Good morning, Free Press subscribers!

I’m Free Press columnist Nancy Kaffer, and wow, was there a lot of news this week.

For the first time in modern history, a draft of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling leaked before the court has made a formal ruling. The leaked draft confirmed what abortion rights advocates had feared: The court is prepared to overturn its landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, the case that guaranteed American women the right to an abortion.

Because of a 1931 Michigan law that was never repealed, overturning Roe would mean that abortion in almost all circumstances would become illegal in this state. We brought you all the angles on this news, from a snapshot of what would happen in Michigan if Roe were overturned to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s pledge to fight for women’s rights, coverage of the wave of protests that sprang up in the wake of the leaked draft, a look at what this could mean for the midterm elections and my own analysis of how limiting women’s rights could harm Michigan’s economy.

This is a huge story, and we’re going to stay on it.

Be sure to also read this investigation by reporters Christine MacDonald and Gina Kaufman, who examined how pandemic early release policies have let some violent offenders out of jail, and a look at a sex abuse case at Second Ebenezer Baptist, a storied Detroit church, by MacDonald and reporter Jasmin Barmore.

Our pages (and website!) are full of compelling and nuanced stories just like this. This is the kind of work your subscription makes possible, and we're grateful for your support, and for your time on this Sunday morning.

Until next week,

Nancy

Now scroll down for more of our top-notch subscriber-only journalism from this past week: 

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Your Week: Women's rights under debate