BIRMINGHAM, Mich. (AP) – A nearly century-old abortion ban that fueled one of the largest ballot drives in Michigan history was repealed Wednesday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, just a month after voters enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution.
“Today, we will take action to ensure that our statutes and laws reflect our values and our constitution,” Whitmer said as he signed the bill outside Detroit.
The abortion ban of 1931 made it a four-year crime to assist in an abortion. Roe v. Wade has made the law null and void until this landmark decision was overturned in June by the US Supreme Court.
The court blocked the ban from taking effect when a citizen-led initiative to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution received more signatures than any other ballot proposal in state history to put the question to voters. Voters overwhelmingly approved the proposal last November, rendering the 1931 law unconstitutional and unenforceable.
The 1931 ban could be enforced in the future if voters gather enough signatures to amend the state constitution and repeal abortion rights. Whitmer’s signature Wednesday eliminated that possibility, removing the law entirely.
“We cannot allow ancient laws to remain on our books in the assumption that they will never be used again,” said Democrat state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky. “We don’t know what they’re going to do and we don’t know what the opponents of abortion are planning.”
Last month, the Michigan House and Senate — each with a two-seat Democratic majority — voted to send the repeal of the abortion ban to the governor. A majority of Republicans oppose the bill, saying before voting on the legality of abortion as a whole.
Pohutsky, who sponsored legislation repealing the law, said at Wednesday’s event that “this is far from the end of the story,” and that the Democratic-controlled Statehouse will continue to expand access to reproductive health care.
Wednesday’s signing marks another victory for abortion rights advocates in Michigan, which joined California and Vermont last November in enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution. Kentucky, a reliably red state, rejected ballot measures aimed at denying the state constitutional protections for abortion.
Voters in Wisconsin elected a Democratic-backed Milwaukee judge Tuesday to the state Supreme Court, ensuring liberals will take majority control of the court with the fate of the state’s abortion ban on the line.
“Who would have thought two years ago, three years ago, five years ago, that we would be Democrats who want Michigan, Kansas, Wisconsin, Montana and Kentucky to be on the front lines of protecting reproductive freedom for women across this country,” she said. said Laphonza Butler, president of EMILYs List.
Whitmer joined other speakers at the event in Birmingham to call on Republican-led states to restrict abortion rights, saying the laws in Texas and South Carolina are “un-American, anti-free and, frankly, sick.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has pushed for a six-week ban in the state, is scheduled to appear in Michigan on Friday to speak at a Midland County GOP event before heading to southern Michigan to speak at Hillsdale College.