In Michigan, #RestoreRoe abortion rights movement hits its limit in the legislature – By Kate Wells (NPR) / Nov 8, 2023
A year ago, Michigan Democrats celebrated the same kind of victory Ohio notched this week. Michigan voters overwhelmingly passed Proposal 3, a ballot measure proponents said would “#RestoreRoe” by creating a “new individual right to reproductive freedom” in the state constitution.
But last week, Michigan Democrats failed to muster the votes needed from their own members to remove two key restrictions on abortion in that state — despite Democrats having control of the state House, Senate, and governorship for the first time in decades.
Democrats in the Michigan legislature introduced the Reproductive Health Act earlier this year, billing it as a way to put the lofty promises of Proposal 3 into practice. The legislation would have allowed state Medicaid dollars to be used for abortion care. And the RHA would have removed a 24-hour mandatory waiting period that requires abortion patients in Michigan to find, sign and print an online consent form. It’s a process that, health care professionals say, regularly results in patients regularly being turned away from their own appointments.
