Phil Skaggs is a member of the Kent County Board of Commissioners representing southeastern Grand Rapids and East Grand Rapids. Prior to joining the Commission, he served as a City Commissioner in East Grand Rapids for five years.
This year, Skaggs, a Democrat, is a candidate for the newly-created 80th Michigan House District on the west side of the state. A proudly progressive Democrat, he has racked up an impressive array of endorsements from groups like Planned Parenthood, Moms Demand Action, the UAW, the Michigan Association for Justice, and Equality Michigan, to name just a few.
When it comes to reproductive freedom and abortion rights, Skaggs is unequivocal. He opposes House Bill 6270 that would punish doctors for performing an abortion with a 10-year prison sentence and a fine of $100,000. It would also punish those who distribute, manufacture or sell medications that would induce abortion with a 20-year prison sentence.
Nationwide, Republicans have proposed banning IUD contraceptives and the Plan B emergency contraceptive pill. If such legislation were introduced in Michigan, Skaggs would oppose it.
Recently a 10-year rape survivor in Ohio was forced to leave the state to get an abortion due to the state’s draconian six-week abortion ban. If Michigan lawmakers were ultimately successful in passing an abortion ban, Skaggs would insist that it include exceptions for rape and incest. “I’ll do everything I can to work with Governor Whitmer and Attorney General Nessel to protect reproductive freedom and abortion access in Michigan,” he said.
Doctors across Michigan, as well in other states, are worried that Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban law that makes abortion a felony – currently on hold pending a court decision – will come back into effect because, among other things, it will ban routine reproductive health services to treat ectopic pregnancies.
Ectopic pregnancies, which the Mayo Clinic says “can’t proceed normally” and that “the fertilized egg can’t survive”, can be life-threatening to the mother, causing severe infections like sepsis and life-threatening internal bleeding. Skaggs would work to ensure that doctors are allowed to give healthcare to pregnant people with ectopic pregnancies without government interference or fear of prosecution.
A 2022 ballot proposal – Reproductive Freedom For All – would enshrine reproductive freedom and abortion rights into the Michigan constitution. Skaggs is in full support of this ballot proposal.
Skaggs says he supports efforts to cut costs for prescription drugs, require transparency in pricing, and crack down on price gouging. “We should make sure corporations are not unfairly charging excessive prices for medicines people need to survive,” he said. “I believe companies should be allowed to recoup the costs of research and make a fair profit. The concept of a state-level drug affordability review board that would help determine pricing for certain high-cost and vital drugs makes sense.”
Another ballot proposal, one that would ensure that the voting rights of Michiganders are secured in our state constitution – Promote the Vote – also would stop any voter suppression efforts in the future. Skaggs supports this ballot proposal.
