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Lansing, MI — The right to reproductive freedom, including abortion access, will now be enshrined in the Michigan state constitution after voters on Tuesday passed Proposal 3. The newly approved constitutional amendment, put forth by a coalition backed by the Fairness Project, defines the right to make and carry out decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including birth control, abortion, prenatal care, and childbirth, without political interference.

“Despite swaths of disinformation, opposition spending, and outright lies from anti-choice extremists, our coalition succeeded to restore the protections of Roe for millions and guarantee reproductive rights for generations to come,” said Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project. “The Fairness Project is thrilled to share in this hard-fought victory with the strong and diverse Reproductive Freedom for All campaign, and we congratulate everyone involved in the Yes on 3 effort.

“Reproductive freedom is an issue of basic dignity, and it must be defended everywhere. We now see a clear path forward for defending the right to choice: through ballot measures. When voters have a chance to decide on this issue, they choose to protect their rights. Everyone deserves access to reproductive care, and we’re looking forward to building off this momentum to pass ballot measures to protect abortion rights wherever we can.” 

Proposal 3 is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that inspired more than 60,000 people to sign up to volunteer to collect signatures after the U.S. Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. To qualify the measure for the ballot, the campaign submitted more than 750,000 signatures earlier this year — representing every county and setting a state record for signatures submitted for a ballot measure.

“Many thanks to the team at the Fairness Project for being a crucial part of this winning coalition,” said Jill Alper with Reproductive Freedom for All. “We are especially grateful for their work early in this campaign to put us in a strong strategic and financial position to win. Ballot measures are essential to ensuring abortion access in a post-Roe world, and we’re glad the Fairness Project is leading the fight to protect the ballot measure process across the country.”

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in July, abortion access in Michigan has been at risk due to a 1931 law banning abortion and criminalizing abortion providers that was never repealed by the state legislature. Since Proposal 3 is a constitutional amendment, it will now override the 1931 law and prevent future restrictions on abortion access.

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