Michiganders Vote to Enshrine Abortion Rights in State Constitution, Erase Decades-Old Law Banning It

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Voters in Michigan voted to add reproductive rights to the state’s constitution on Tuesday night. In doing so, they nullified a 1931 law banning most abortions.

That law had been rendered toothless back in 1973 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that the U.S. Constitution allowed abortion under the right to privacy established in a case decided eight years earlier. However, the Michigan statute remained in the state’s legal code.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The majority opinion said abortion is a matter for the states or Congress to decide.

Anti-abortion advocates argued the old 91-year-old law should take effect, but a state court judge placed a preliminary injunction on enforcing the law. After more legal wrangling, a Michigan Court of Claims judge ordered a permanent injunction in September.

That month, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled the abortion measure must be put before voters on November’s ballot.

The ballot measure read:

This proposed constitutional amendment would:

Establish new individual right to reproductive freedom, including right to make and carry out all decisions about pregnancy, such as prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion, miscarriage management, and infertility;

Allow state to regulate abortion after fetal viability, but not prohibit if medically needed to protect a patient’s life or physical or mental health;

Forbid state discrimination in enforcement of this right; prohibit prosecution of an individual, or a person helping a pregnant individual, for exercising rights established by this amendment;

Invalidate state laws conflicting with this amendment.

Should this proposal be adopted?

YES  [  ]

NO   [  ]

As of this writing, “Yes,” led by 11 percentage points, 55.5% to 44.5% with the vast majority of precincts having reported.

In addition, pro-choice Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer defeated Republican challenger Tudor Dixon.