Whitmer visits Petoskey one day after pro-abortion rights protest, expresses support

PETOSKEY — The people of Petoskey received a surprise when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spent her Fourth of July visiting McLean and Eakin Booksellers to meet members of the community, listen to their concerns and speak about her conviction to represent the people of Michigan.

Just one day after locals gathered in downtown Petoskey gathered to protest the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Whitmer reiterated her commitment to protecting reproductive rights.

More: Crowd gathers downtown to protest overturning of Roe v. Wade

“I am fighting. I'm using every tool in my toolbox to protect reproductive choice and bodily autonomy and the right to privacy in Michigan,” Whitmer said.

“I believe that the Michigan Constitution affords those rights to women, rights that my generation has had our whole lives. And so I'm going to fight to make sure that they continue to be rights that women in Michigan can avail themselves of. And 70% of the people in our state agree. Even if it's not a choice they would make, they understand and support a woman being able to make a choice around her own body.”

Michigan has a 1931 law that bans most forms of abortion, Whitmer has brought a case to the Michigan supreme court to repeal the law. In the event she is unsuccessful, Whitmer said she is working to protect a patient’s privacy and has called on the Biden administration to ensure that there is support for people who need to travel to Canada in order to receive reproductive healthcare like abortion and birth control.

More: Saturday rally in Petoskey shows support for pro-choice legislation

The day before Whitmer’s visit, residents of Petoskey and the surrounding areas took to the streets of downtown to show their support for access to reproductive healthcare like abortion and birth control.

“Anytime people's rights are trampled on, silence does nothing but aid those that are the oppressor,” Petoskey Mayor John Murphy said while attending the protest on Sunday.

The crowd of more than a hundred people cheered as passing cars honked in support of their message. The protest was more than just women of reproductive age, people of all ages and genders turned up to show their support for abortion rights.

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More: Thousands of demonstrators rally to protect abortion access in Michigan

Kaitlin Arterga, who grew up in Boyne City before moving downstate, returned to Northern Michigan to take part in the protest on Sunday while holding a sign that said, “I like my government like I like my coffee, no where near my vagina.”

Kaitlin is a mother to a 1-year-old daughter, she said if she hadn’t received a dilation and curettage, a procedure very similar to an abortion, she would not have survived her first pregnancy.

“Before I was pregnant with my daughter, my husband and I were trying to get pregnant and we went in for our first appointment. Our baby had no heartbeat and I was holding on to the pregnancy, so I had to get a DNC, my doctor said to save my life because my body was holding on to it and if I didn't get a DNC I would go septic.”

Diane Gildersleeve from Alanson first fought for reproductive rights 32 years ago at The National Mall in Washington, D.C., she said she is outraged that she has to do it again.

“It's something that's so important, it's your body,” Gildersleeve said. “There's too many ways the government is trying to regulate things that have to do with individual bodies and that's not okay. It's not what the Constitution ever intended. It's not what was practiced at the time the Constitution was written. And it's wrong.”

“It's really true, 70% of people in this state support a woman being able to make her own decision. And I've had Republicans reaching out, I've had independents. So it just reaffirms for me that this is something that isn't partisan,” Whitmer said.

“It's about seeing the humanity in women and ensuring that we have (the) ability to make our own decisions just like every other person in America.”

McLean and Eakin co-owner Jessilynn Norcross said hosting the governor was an honor.

“As a mother of a daughter, having a strong female role model is so important right now. I got a little teary eyed a couple of moments when she talked about not letting people bully her. I think that's a good message that we all need to hear right now,” McLean and Eakin co-owner Jessilynn Norcross said.

Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter, @Tess_Petoskey 

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Whitmer spends July 4 in Petoskey, day after abortion rights protest