This month marks two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, stripping away federal protections for abortion care. Since then, Michiganders have worked to protect their reproductive freedom, while more than 20 states have banned some or all abortions and done everything they can to make accessing care difficult or impossible.
Anti-abortion advocates have relentlessly attacked reproductive freedom, pushing for bans, restrictions, and erosion of rights. They have weaponized the courts to attack medication abortion and emergency medical care for pregnant women, and now they are targeting contraception and IVF. Their aim has always been clear: to move the political climate into dangerous ideological territory. At this critical juncture, we must ask ourselves, “When will the next bad thing happen?”
Despite hard-earned victories for reproductive rights in Michigan, anti-abortion extremists threaten to undo all of that progress. We’ve worked hard and made historic progress for Michiganders over the past few years, but they would undo it all if anti-abortion extremists win presidential and congressional elections that have the power to shape the future of the Supreme Court and, ultimately, the trajectory of the country for generations to come. Dire predictions cannot be dismissed as “hyperbole.” Time and again, anti-abortion extremists and politicians have made their intentions known and then carried out their attacks.
More from Freep:Gen Z is moving to Texas, but Michigan is doing much better, according to Zillow
Recall that Donald Trump promised in 2016 to appoint anti-abortion justices to the Supreme Court. Trump made good on that promise, appointing three justices who could potentially reconsider longstanding decisions protecting birth control and marriage equality. Justice Clarence Thomas has openly signaled the court’s intention to reconsider these issues. And recently, Justice Samuel Alito and his spouse have come under fire for implying support for the January 6, 2021 rioters and expressing contempt for the LGBTQ+ community.
They are again talking about next steps, but the question is, are we listening?
teeth Does Michigan have abortion rights?
Connect the dots and you can see where this country is headed, if we let it. With four of the nine Supreme Court justices in their 70s by the end of the next presidential term, a Republican victory would likely lead to retirement and the appointment of younger, far-right justices, entrenching a conservative majority on the Supreme Court for decades and endangering reproductive freedom and health equality in Michigan and beyond.
But is Michigan safe? Not at all. Michigan is currently in danger, despite all the efforts to advance reproductive freedom and health equality here in Michigan — tens of thousands of volunteer hours, a record 750,000 signatures to put Proposition 3 on the ballot, enshrining abortion rights in our state constitution, and other historic legislative victories. All it takes is a slight shift in the national political climate in November for anti-abortion advocates to take away our hard-won rights in an instant. Don’t underestimate the seriousness of their intentions.
That is why we must keep fighting. When individuals or groups openly express their intention to limit our rights, we must take it seriously. As Maya Angelou wisely said, “When someone reveals themselves, be the first to believe them.”
We are now living through the escalating chaos caused by the defeat of Roe. He vowed to pass a nationwide abortion ban. If they regained power, state legislators would pressure hospitals to deny life-saving abortions to pregnant patients and threaten IVF, leaving hopeful parents in limbo. Others have introduced legislation to ban people from crossing state lines to seek medical care and to accuse family and friends of being human traffickers if they try to drive them to appointments. Medical students and obstetricians-gynecologists are uprooting their lives and moving to other states to avoid being prosecuted for simply doing their jobs. Parents of LGBTQ+ children are trying to find safe places to raise their families, help their children access gender-affirming treatment, and avoid the threat of being labeled child abusers simply for being loving parents. The nightmare we feared is real.
Be interested and pay attention
The Supreme Court’s recent decision on mifepristone may have provided a temporary reprieve, but there is little cause for celebration. The justices ruled on a technicality, leaving the door wide open for new challenges to medication abortion. Instead of giving abortion opponents roadblocks, the Court has provided them with a road map.
Advocates, activists, medical experts, and lawmakers are sounding the alarm about what’s to come. Extreme positions that were once unthinkable are now being framed as political compromises. Our rights are firmly in the target of anti-abortion politicians who have vowed to restrict them. If they are successful, it won’t be long before relevant cases make their way to a Supreme Court that is openly hostile to our values.
The relentless battle of the past few years has left us all exhausted, but we cannot succumb to apathy. The nightmare will only have power over us so long as we continue to sleep. We ask you to stand with us, to stay engaged, to pay attention. Our collective future depends on it. Your future depends on it. We cannot afford to lose in November. The stakes are too high.
Paula Thornton Greer is president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan.
