Michigan — Nearly 6 in 10 Americans support abortion in most cases according to a recent survey released by Pew. The poll comes on the heals of a leaked Supreme Court opinion that would overturn the Constitutional Right to abortion laid out in the Roe v. Wade decision nearly fifty years ago. The poll also found that more than 1 in 3 Republican voters support abortion in all of most cases.
In Michigan, a January 2022 poll showed that 58 percent of voters describe themselves as pro-choice on abortion while only 34 percent described themselves as “pro-life” with 10 percent refusing to answer.
In light of these clear majorities, Michiganders held marches across the country and Michigan over the weekend to voice support for Roe v. Wade and abortion rights. Those in Michigan had the chance to sign a petition to codify Roe v. Wade into law.
After the Supreme Court decision was leaked, Governor Whitmer declared, “As a woman born and raised in Michigan, I have a moral obligation to stand up for the rights of the nearly 2.2 million Michigan women who will lose their right to make decisions about their own bodies if Roe falls. Michigan, like several other states, has a law criminalizing abortion that is still on the books. It was enacted in 1931 and would make our state home to one of the most extreme anti-choice policies in the country once this decision from the court is officially released. If Roe falls, abortion will become a felony in Michigan, without exceptions for rape or incest,” in a New York Times editorial.
Despite clear majorities for abortion rights, every Republican running for Governor opposes these rights, with some going so far as to say that women should be forced to deliver a baby forcibly conceived during rape and one candidate going taking the extreme position that women should not be given life saving abortions.
