Whitmer calls on legislature to repeal Michigan’s 1930s law criminalizing abortion

(WXYZ) – Governor Gretchen Whitmer called on state lawmakers to pass a law repealing Michigan’s 1930s law criminalizing abortion.

The law is currently due to Roe v. Wade not in place.

“Recently, Texas passed a new, extreme anti-electoral law that puts people’s lives at risk and threatens health workers,” Whitmer said in a statement. “The insidious law essentially prohibits abortion, even in cases of rape or incest, and allows strangers to sue health professionals or anyone who helps women get the comprehensive health care they need. It is a gross violation of constitutional suffrage, and the court’s decision to allow it is leading the United States on a dangerous path to overthrow Roe against Wade.

“Unfortunately, there are more cases based on equally extreme state laws waiting in the Supreme Court for complaints that Roe v. Wade would tip over completely. If the court’s decision in the Texas case is any indication, a majority of judges are willing to abandon the constitutional franchise that has existed for 48 years and has been upheld repeatedly for decades.

“In Michigan today, abortion is safe and legal, but we have an obscure law from the 1930s that bans abortion and criminalizes health care providers who provide full care and essential reproductive services. Fortunately, this dangerous, outdated law of Roe v. Wade replaced, but if the US Supreme Court overturns Roe, that Michigan law and similar laws could come back into effect in dozens of states and disproportionately affect black and brown communities.

State Senator Erika Geiss has introduced a bill to repeal the law.

“I’ve always stood by those who are fighting for their right to vote, and I’m not going to quit their jobs now,” said Whitmer.