Oakland, Co. — In 2022, The United States Supreme Court overturned the landmark case Roe v. Wade with it’s decision in the now infamous Dobbs case. Dobbs allowed state governments to strip away reproductive rights from women across the country.
The decision led many states to adopt draconian laws that have banned abortion at six weeks, criminalized reproductive health care and many families have suffered as a consequence. A recent article by ProPublica reports that at least two women in Georgia died in parking lots of hospitals because their care was denied.
In Michigan, voters across the state enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution by a wide margin during the 2022 election. Proposal 3, Reproductive Rights for All, passed with 56.6 percent of the vote. In many districts, Republican candidates were able to win their seats despite the fact that they opposed reproductive rights.
In Oakland County, three Republicans are running for reelection after voting NO on a bill that would ensure no woman has to face the horror that the women in Georgia faced. Representatives Mark Tisdel, Donnie Steele, and Thomas Kuhn all represent districts that voted for Proposal 3 in 2022.
For all three of the Republicans, it remains to be seen if there extreme views on reproductive rights will go unnoticed by voters. For instance, Tisdel took extreme positions are abortion when filling out a questionnaire in 2022.
According to Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan:
In response to an extreme anti-abortion organization’s candidate questionnaire, Mark Tisdel said he:
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Supports overturning Roe v. Wade
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Supports abortion bans
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Supports defunding Planned Parenthood
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Supports legislation allowing health care professionals to deny treatment to patients due to personal religious beliefs
For Mark Tisdel, his extremist agenda may wipe away the years of goodwill he’s built up as a wedding singer – the question remains if voters in his Oakland county district will ask for an encore or if they will divorce themselves from his out-of-touch policies.
