BREAKING: Michigan Supreme Court Rules to Advance Abortion Rights Ballot Measure to November Ballot
Lansing, MI — In a crucial decision today, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled to allow Michigan citizens to vote reproductive freedom, including the right to an abortion, into their state constitution this year.
In its ruling, the court ordered the Board of State Canvassers to approve the Reproductive Freedom for All campaign’s ballot measure (Proposition 3) for the election. In a vote last week, the board deadlocked along party lines, blocking the measure from appearing on the ballot, even though the campaign submitted far more than the required number of valid signatures to qualify. Today’s court decision essentially guarantees that Proposition 3 will appear on the ballot, barring radical and unconstitutional action by the Board of State Canvassers’ Republican members.
“We’re thrilled by this decision, which now allows voters to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade that Michiganders have had for the past 50 years. Despite political games by members of the Board of State Canvassers who tried to silence the voices of hundreds of thousands of Michigan voters, direct democracy has thankfully prevailed,” said Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project.
“This proposed amendment is urgently necessary, and it can help us chart the path forward for similar initiatives throughout the rest of the country in a post-Roe landscape. Over the next several weeks, we at the Fairness Project along with our partners in Michigan will be doing everything we can to inform Michiganders that voting YES means restoring the protections of Roe and guaranteeing that politicians will never make their health care decisions for them.”
Earlier this summer, the Fairness Project-supported Reproductive Freedom for All campaign submitted more than 750,000 signatures to qualify Proposition 3. If passed, the measure would amend the state constitution to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade and guarantee every person in Michigan the fundamental right to reproductive freedom.
The Fairness Project has won 24 ballot measure campaigns to expand Medicaid, raise the minimum wage, guarantee paid leave to workers, and more through citizen-initiated ballot measures. In addition to its work to support the Reproductive Freedom for All campaign, the Fairness Project is also campaigning with Vermont for Reproductive Liberty to pass a similar constitutional amendment to protect Vermonters.