It’s not certain whether the Reproductive Freedom for All proposal will get in front of voters in November after the Board of State Canvassers deadlocked on party lines Wednesday. The board also deadlocked Wednesday on whether an initiative to expand voting rights will end up on the Nov. 8 general election ballot. Both matters are now expected to be resolved in the Michigan Supreme Court.
Abortion
Approximately 300 people gathered in front of the St. Joseph County Courthouse Saturday to protest the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had previously established abortion as a constitutional right.
The Bans Off Our Bodies Protest is scheduled to start at noon outside of the St. Joseph County Courthouse with the expectation that demonstrators will disperse around 4 p.m.
State Rep. Padma Kuppa (D-Troy) writes, “For decades, top-down movements have been sowing the seeds of disinformation, which has created a world where everyday Americans cannot trust facts presented to them. This environment divides us and those who fuel disinformation intend to confuse Americans and pit us against each other. Our democracy is stronger when we work together. Those hellbent on power and control know this well — and use disinformation to push us apart. When we are too busy fighting each other, we fail to notice when bad actors chip away at our freedoms, our rights and our collective power.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law Wednesday the nearly $70 billion Fiscal Year 2022 budget, while axing Republicans’ cuts to abortion access and noting that budget language restricting COVID-19 mandates is unenforceable.
In 1973, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade granted Americans the constitutional right to access a safe and legal abortion. But in May, the Supreme Court, which is considered to have the most right-wing tilt in decades, agreed to hear arguments on a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. That could result in the court overturning the Roe v. Wade decision. Here’s an explainer on where reproductive health rights stand in our state and what such a decision could mean for Michiganders.