Whitmer: Why I’m asking the Michigan Supreme Court to protect abortion rights

Recently, I have heard from countless women and families with legitimate anxiety about the future of their equal rights given the relentless, draconian attacks on abortion throughout the country. A woman who survived sexual assault shared that she counted on abortion access when she was afraid the attack resulted in a pregnancy. Another woman, a mother already, said she chose abortion when doctors told her and her husband that the baby they expected would not make it due to a rare fetal abnormality, and that while choosing abortion was the hardest decision she made, it was also the right one for them. A young woman reached out with concern that after she worked hard to graduate and get a job here in Michigan, she might move to a different state if abortion was no longer legal here.

As governor, my job is to fight for my constituents’ rights. I am proud to fight for the rights of all women to make the decisions that are best for them about their bodies and their lives.

But the fight is not getting any easier, and it is time to pull out all the stops. Because however we personally feel about abortion, a woman's health — not politics — should drive important medical decisions.

More:Whitmer asks state Supreme Court to strike down Michigan's 91-year-old abortion ban

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In the coming weeks, Americans will learn whether the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade. Soon, the Court will issue its ruling on a Mississippi law that could make abortion illegal in nearly any circumstance — including rape and incest — and deprive women of the ability to make critical health care decisions on their own terms. That is because Michigan, like 21 other states, has antiquated laws on the books criminalizing abortion.

In 1973, these laws were invalidated by Roe. But without Roe, the laws will take effect again, and a woman’s freedom to access legal abortion will be history.

Protecting the right to choose

That is why I am going to court today: to protect abortion access in Michigan. I am filing a lawsuit to protect abortion access in our state, and I am using the Executive Message — a tool that is rarely used but held by the governor’s office — to urge the Michigan Supreme Court to swiftly decide this matter.

These bold actions are necessary for the most desperate of times, and we must get this done before Roe is potentially overturned. Michiganders need to know now whether abortion will be legal and accessible in our state, and if our basic freedoms are protected. My actions in court are designed to provide that clarity

Seven in 10 Michiganders support Roe, including those who personally would not choose abortion for themselves. They believe that the decision to have an abortion should be left to a woman in consultation with a medical professional she trusts. I agree. For Michiganders, this is settled.

We need to talk about what we have recently seen in other states and be honest that we are not immune from the same attacks on our freedom in Michigan. Six states worked to pass laws that ban abortion before a woman even knows she is pregnant, and three others tried to pass a ban at any point throughout pregnancy. Texas punishes cab drivers for up to $10,000 just for taking a woman to a doctor’s appointment for an abortion, deputizing Texans to act as vigilantes for enforcement and rewarding those who invade their neighbors’ privacy.

Other states are following suit. This is no longer theoretical: it is reality. This type of legislation represents a thread that can be pulled to unravel rights and protections for every marginalized community in this country, especially for women of color and people with low incomes.

When we allow those in power to choose which groups of Americans should enjoy the full protections of the Constitution, none are safe. The attack on abortion rights is a step toward the erosion of Constitutional protections for all but a select few.

What women stand to lose

We also need to be honest about what a near-total abortion ban would mean for women.

First, lack of economic freedom.

The decision whether to have a child is the biggest economic decision a woman will make in her lifetime. The joy a child brings is undeniable, as is its impact on a family’s finances. So, not surprisingly, most women who have an abortion are mothers, trying to provide for the family they already have. If a woman is forced to continue a pregnancy against her will, it can make it harder for them to make ends meet or keep them in poverty.

Second, lack of reproductive freedom, denying the right to chart one’s own destiny.

The freedom to decide what to do with your body is fundamental to who we are as Americans, as is the freedom to decide whether to have a child. A woman may seek abortion because she is not ready to raise a child or to provide for one. She may need to complete her education. Her life may be in danger, or she may be the survivor of a crime. Or, she simply just might not want to be a mother.

But frankly, the reason why is no one’s business but her own. Women and all people should have agency over their bodies – — it is the most fundamental human right there is. Politicians do not have a superior right over this.

Finally, we need to be clear that “protecting life” is not what motivates many people who want to make abortion illegal. If it were, caregivers like nurses, teachers, and childcare professionals, would be paid more. We would have universal pre-K, larger investments in public education, and a healthy childcare tax credit. We would have affordable housing, paid family leave, and policies in place to lower the cost food.

No matter what happens to Roe, I am going to fight like hell and use all the tools I have as governor to ensure reproductive freedom is a right for all women in Michigan. Today in court, I represent Michigan women — moms, students, daughters, granddaughters, neighbors, and so many more — who deserve the freedom to design their own future. And that’s a fight worth having every single time

Gretchen Whitmer is the governor of Michigan.