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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., claimed, “Americans will suffer and may die,” if Roe v. Wade gets overturned in a guest essay for The New York Times on Monday.
She detailed her disappointment in the leaked draft opinion written by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who signaled the conservative majority of the court was getting ready to overturn Roe v. Wade, and called for the private sector and states to “get creative” with abortion access.
“Whether through legislation, executive action, ballot initiative or civic engagement, the answer to the overtly political ruling of a supposedly apolitical, unelected body is to engage in every way and at every level. The answer is to get creative,” Whitmer wrote.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (AP Photo/Al Goldis, File)
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She applauded many in the private sector, specifically companies like Amazon, Levi Strauss and Yelp, that have said they would pay for travel costs for their employees who seek “medical procedures that cannot be performed where they reside.”
“More companies must join them,” Whitmer said. “If we do not use every lever of power we have right now, or if we succumb to complacency, Americans will suffer and may die,” she wrote, linking to an NPR article that made no claim about women dying.
“Many will be out of sight, forgotten. Most will be poor. A sizable contingent will be women of color,” she continued.
FILE – In this April 23, 2021, file photo members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington.(Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool, File)
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The Michigan governor also explained a lawsuit that she filed with a Michigan court which aims to “immediately resolve whether our State Constitution includes the right to gain access to abortion.” A 1931 law in Michigan would ban abortion unless it is done to save the life of mother. The law does not have exceptions for rape or incest.
An abortion clinic joined Whitmer’s lawsuit and the governor hopes to request that the Supreme Court take on her lawsuit. The governor wants the Michigan Supreme Court to determine that abortion is a constitutional right and to strike down the 1931 law, which could go back into effect if the leaked opinion turns out to reflect the final decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Whitmer wrote that she hopes her lawsuit will serve as a model for others to take action to “protect access to safe, legal abortions.” She noted that she’s not confident she can get a bill passed to overturn the 1931 law, given Republican control of the state legislature.
DETROIT, MI – OCTOBER 31: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks during a drive-in campaign rally with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama at Belle Isle on October 31, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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Politico reported the leaked draft opinion, written by Alito, last week. The opinion said that the court would leave the issue of abortion to the states.
“It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives,” the draft read.
