LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – On the one-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision, Governor Whitmer’s office published a press release outlining the steps she has taken in Michigan to maintain abortion access.

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“Last year, after the Dobbs decision was released, tens of millions of Americans across the nation had their fundamental right to make their own decisions about their own bodies and lives stripped away,” Whitmer said. “As reproductive freedom remains under attack in other states, we are taking action to guarantee that Michiganders have the right to make reproductive health care decisions that are best for them.”

“Thanks to our efforts, not a single day has gone by in which Michiganders could not access abortion care,” said Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II. “Governor Whitmer and I are committed to using every tool in our toolbox to protect reproductive freedoms, close health equity gaps in underrepresented communities, and ensure every person can reach their full potential right here in Michigan.”

The release, published on Wednesday, provided a summary of steps Whitmer has taken since the ruling, which is quoted below:

  • On the day of the Dobbs decision, filed a motion urging the Court to immediately consider her lawsuit.
  • In June 2022, followed up with an additional notice to the Court urging them to immediately consider her lawsuit.
  • In June 2022, sent a letter to Michigan’s insurers urging them to take steps to ensure Michiganders have coverage for reproductive health care to the fullest extent possible under current coverage.
  • In July 2022, joined with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to launch a public effort to educate Michiganders and health care providers about the difference between emergency contraception and medication abortion.
  • In July 2022, called on the federal government to clarify and protect Michiganders’ right to cross the US-Canada border to seek reproductive health care or prescription medication including medication abortion.
  • In July 2022, urged President Biden to make birth control available over the counter without a prescription.
  • In July 2022, signed an executive order refusing to extradite women or health care providers who come to Michigan seeking reproductive freedom.
  • In July 2022, called on FDA to reduce barriers to medication abortion.
  • In August 2022, secured a restraining order blocking certain county prosecutors from enforcing the 1931 abortion ban after a court cleared a path for them to do so earlier on the same day.
  • In August 2022, went to court to defend the restraining order and won.
  • In August 2022, filed renewed request with Michigan Supreme Court to protect right to abortion.
  • In August 2022, submitted legal brief to prevent enforcement of extreme 1931 abortion ban.
  • In August 2022, filed motion for a preliminary injunction against 1931 abortion ban in Oakland County Circuit Court.
  • In August 2022, won a preliminary injunction against the 1931 abortion ban, protecting legal abortion in Michigan until the Michigan Supreme Court takes up the governor’s lawsuit or Michiganders vote to protect women’s fundamental rights.
  • In August 2022, expanded access to birth control to 200,000 Michiganders covered by MPSERS non-Medicare plans.
  • In August 2022, called on big tech to protect data and digital privacy in light of report of law enforcement using personal health data to go after women seeking reproductive care.
  • In August 2022, joined LARA to announce that pharmacists in the state of Michigan are eligible to prescribe hormonal birth control in partnership with doctors.
  • In November 2022, announced new protocols so EMS responders can carry emergency contraception and are prepared to work with sexual assault survivors.
  • In December 2022, signed an executive directive ordering departments to identify ways to increase protection for reproductive health care under the Michigan constitution.
  • In April 2023, repealed Michigan’s extreme 1931 abortion ban.
  • In May 2023, signed a law prohibiting employers from discriminating against women because they’ve had an abortion.

“When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade one year ago, it cast the nation into an abortion access crisis,” said Paula Thornton Greear, President and CEO of Michigan’s Planned Parenthood. “At Planned Parenthood of Michigan, we have seen the devastating consequences of this decision firsthand. People across the country are being forced to travel hundreds of miles to access abortion services, putting their health and lives at risk.”

According to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, abortion is banned in 13 states, while four others are considered “severely restricted.” Michigan is considered “mostly accessible” due to its requirements for parental consent and a 24-hour waiting period.

Right to Life of Michigan, which also published a press release on the one-year anniversary of Dobbs, called the day “a celebratory time for the cause of life nationwide.”

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“Dobbs is not an end in itself but the reigniting of a cultural conversation about how we as a society value and support each and every woman through the most challenging of times, inviting her to make a choice for life,” wrote Grace Hemmeke, Right to Life of Michigan Events and Outreach Coordinator. “Since Dobbs, tens of thousands of lives have been saved, and countless women are not left to wonder what could have been.”

A recent Gallup poll of registered voters showed a record-high 28% of voters would only support a candidate who shared their position on abortion. Pro-choice voters are more likely to fall into this group than pro-life voters.

“Not only did the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision cause more Americans to identify as pro-choice than had for the prior quarter century, but it also caused that expanded group of pro-choice identifiers to attach greater importance to a candidate’s abortion stance when they vote,” Gallup reported. “Meanwhile, the diminished pro-life segment of the electorate is less energized on the issue than they have been previously, indicating that the desire to see laws changes is more motivating to voters than wanting current laws maintained.”

Whitmer applauded Michigan’s progress in preserving abortion access but said there is more work to be done.

“It is my hope that the legislature will repeal laws that make it harder for women to exercise their right to access abortion care, including laws that mandate biased, medically inaccurate counseling, discriminatory waiting periods, and put obstructive, targeted regulations on women’s health providers,” she said. “I will keep using every tool in my toolbox to support, protect, and affirm reproductive freedom in Michigan, and I’ll keep fighting to make our state a welcoming beacon of opportunity where anyone can envision a future.”