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It happened. The United States Supreme Court has overturned nearly 50 years of precedent and stripped our right to an abortion. Roe is no more. That means it’s on the states. The courts won’t protect us. We have to protect us. This news broke while I was giving my weekly livestream. I broke. Today, it’s okay if you do too. Tomorrow — we need you. Here’s my floor speech from yesterday given in anticipation of this ruling. Like you, I’m devastated.
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Here’s a breakdown of what this means in Michigan: Due only to a temporary injunction by a Michigan court, abortion is still available in Michigan [Read this article in the Detroit Free Press]. HOWEVER, I want to stress this is temporary and there are multiple forces working to end that status, at which point abortion access will immediately become illegal in Michigan because of a 19 To that end, the Michigan Senate Republican Majority has already filed to intervene in the suit that temporarily allows abortion access, spending $750,000 of taxpayer dollars to force the 1931 law, and its enforcement to effectively ban abortion, back into place. Legislation has also been introduced in the House by Republicans to criminalize abortion providers and manufacturers of drugs that induce abortions.
WHAT’S HAPPENING TO PROTECT REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS IN MICHIGAN Efforts are also underway to protect reproductive rights on multiple fronts. In the legislature, bills have been introduced to end the 1931 law effectively prohibiting abortions and enshrine reproductive rights into law. In the Senate, my colleague, Sen. Erika Geiss, introduced Senate Bill 70 to repeal the 1931 law, and I’ve introduced Senate Bill 732, known as the Reproductive Health Act, to codify reproductive rights and access to abortion into state law. Similar legislation has also been introduced in the House. Governor Whitmer has also filed a lawsuit leveraging her executive authority to ask the Michigan Supreme Court to immediately resolve whether the state Constitution can, and should, protect access to abortion and reproductive rights. IF YOU NEED MEDICAL CARE OR HAVE QUESTIONS Contact your doctor, OBGYN, Planned Parenthood, or a clinic as soon as possible. We will share more information as we have it.
Sincerely, |
