Whitmer files lawsuit to protect abortion in Michigan

Photo Credit: Governor Gretchen Whitmer Facebook page

(LANSING, Mich.) Governor Gretchen Whitmer has used her executive authority to file a lawsuit asking Michigan's State Supreme Court to determine whether Michigan's constitution protects abortion rights. 

“In the coming weeks, we will learn if the U.S. Supreme Court decides to overturn Roe v. Wade,” said Whitmer. “If Roe is overturned, abortion could become illegal in Michigan in nearly any circumstance—including in cases of rape and incest— and deprive Michigan women of the ability to make critical health care decisions for themselves."

Whitmer's office says Michigan's law banning abortion even in cases of rape or incest was enacted in 1931. 

However, the ban on abortion became illegal after the U.S. Supreme Court passed Roe v. Wade in 1973. 

Whitmer's office says that if Roe is overturned this year, Michigan's abortion ban would go back into effect. 

The lawsuit filed by Whitmer is asking Michigan's Supreme Court to recognize that a woman has a constitutional right to an abortion under the due process clause of Michigan's constitution.

Whitmer's lawsuit states that a ban on abortion violates the due process clause in the state constitution because that clause grants the right to privacy and bodily autonomy.  

"However we personally feel about abortion, a woman’s health, not politics, should drive important medical decisions," said Whitmer. "A woman must be able to make her own medical decisions with the advice of a healthcare professional she trusts – politicians shouldn’t make that decision for her. Overturning Roe will criminalize abortion and impact nearly 2.2 million Michigan women. If a woman is forced to continue a pregnancy against her will, it can have devastating consequences, including keeping families in poverty and making it harder for women and families to make ends meet."

Planned Parenthood and Sarah Wallett an abortion provider, also filed a lawsuit to block the enforcement of Michigan's 1931 abortion ban. 

Michigan's attorney general Dana Nessel also weighed in on the lawsuits. 

“Let me be very clear, I will not use the resources of my office to defend Michigan’s 1931 statute criminalizing abortion," said Nessel. "As elected prosecutors and law enforcement officials, we have the opportunity to lead and to offer peace of mind to women and health-care professionals who might otherwise be placed in the untenable position of choosing between the exercise of personal health-care choices and the threat of criminal prosecution. Abortion care is an essential component of women’s health care. As this state’s top law enforcement officer, I have never wavered in my stance on this issue, and I will not prosecute women or their doctors for a personal medical decision.”