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While Americans wait for the expected Dobbs decision to end federal protection of abortion rights — and the 26 state bans on abortion which are sure to follow — Michigan offers a case study of the many levels of government involved in either protecting or denying, reproductive rights.
Even better for Blue Tent readers, Michigan provides examples of ways that donors can help move the needle to protect abortion rights. Here we explore four such options.
1. Donate to Michigan’s precedent-setting ballot drive to protect abortion rights
Michigan is one of 23 states where citizens can make changes to state law via citizen-initiated ballot drives. Now, a coalition including the ACLU of Michigan, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, and Michigan Voices is looking to set a precedent for protecting abortion rights by ballot that other states can follow. The Reproductive Freedom for All initiative is being coordinated by the Fairness Project, “the foremost incubator, funder, and convener of progressive ballot initiatives” in the country.
If the coalition succeeds in gathering the required 425,059 signatures, Michigan will be the only state in the country with a citizen-initiated state constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights on its ballot in November. In Vermont, the state legislature has forwarded a similar proposed amendment to the state’s voters; anti-abortion-rights proposals may end up on the ballot in as many as six states.
Michigan’s Reproductive Freedom for All coalition has until July 11 to gather signatures, and then faces a long road until November littered with what is sure to be a well-organized and well-funded fight by anti-abortion extremists to defeat the proposal.
On the (very) plus side, this ballot initiative has attracted a staggering amount of volunteer energy: between the May 3 leak of the probable Dobbs decision and my May 27 interview with Fairness Project Executive Director Kelly Hall alone, more than 30,000 volunteers had signed up to circulate petitions.* To put that number in context, a spokesperson for the Fairness Project said that, in 2020, the organization’s ballot proposals in four states combined signed up a total of 3,600 volunteers.
Michigan’s abortion rights initiative is vital to protect Michiganders’ access to abortion, contraception, and other reproductive care. It’s also a chance to set a very powerful precedent.
In today’s current political climate, Hall said, “so much of our response can be about rage or despair or feeling hopeless,” but ballot proposals “give us an avenue to take matters into our own hands.”
The Michigan Reproductive Freedom for All initiative “must-win,” Hall said, and not just for Michiganders, but also “so that we can be proactively going to voters in the 23 states where there are citizen-initiated ballot measures and saying this is a viable tool.”
Donate here to support Michigan’s Reproductive Freedom for All ballot initiative to protect abortion rights — and get ready to donate to similar proposals in future election cycles.
2. Donate to county prosecutors’ races to protect doctors and pregnant women
Seven of Michigan’s county prosecutors publicly vowed in early May not to enforce Michigan’s 1931 “trigger" law banning abortion when and if Roe falls. In April, on the other hand, the Macomb County Prosecutor, a Republican (surprise!) said he will prosecute such cases.
County prosecutors wield enormous power. They decide which cases to pursue, what charges to bring, and how lenient or stringent to be during plea bargaining. They are also elected in 45 of the 50 states, in generally lower-budget races where small donations have a greater chance of making a difference.
Michigan’s top law enforcement official, Attorney General Dana Nessel, has also vowed not to bring prosecutions under the 1931 abortion ban. She has also refused to waste taxpayer money defending the law in court. Blue Tent rated Nessel’s race a “high priority” in March. Forty-three states join Michigan in electing their attorneys general; Blue Tent profiled how donors can protect Democratic AGs seeking reelection and potentially help flip some of those offices blue in a March strategy brief.
3. Donate to elect state judges who will uphold abortion rights
In May a Michigan judge granted a preliminary injunction against Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban in a case brought by Planned Parenthood of Michigan. Michigan Court of Claims Judge Elizabeth Gleicher’s term doesn’t end until 2025, but she is an elected official –as are the judges in 22 states that select judges using contested elections, whether partisan or nonpartisan.
Blue Tent recently explained the avenues that donors have for impacting state supreme court elections. One option is donating to Democratic Party-endorsed candidates to Michigan’s Supreme Court, which may ultimately decide whether or not the right to abortion is protected by the state’s constitution.
4. Donate to elect abortion-supporting Democratic governors
Michigan’s Supreme Court has started evaluating procedural issues prior to deciding whether or not to take up the issue of abortion thanks to Governor Whitmer, who has used one of Michigan’s unique laws in an attempt to fast-track the issue.
Blue Tent urged readers to consider supporting Whitmer in February; an endorsement that’s even more of a high priority now that abortion rights are on the line. More widely, a large number of state judges are appointed by governors, making state executive offices vital races for protecting abortion rights. The Cook Political Report currently says that four Democratic governors, including Whitmer, are running in “toss-up” races, while two Republican governors — in Arizona and Georgia — are in “toss-up” races.
Blue Tent readers who want to support abortion rights by electing Democratic governors can give via the Democratic Governors Association.
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Today’s political climate of minority rule practically invites a sense of hopelessness about abortion and other important rights. But the fact remains that the Republican-dominated U.S. Supreme Court seats, and extremist Republicans in charge of too many of our states, don’t have the last word on abortion access. In many states, and even more localities, voters — and donors — can still effectively fight for the right to terminate unwanted pregnancies.
Disclosure: Dawn Wolfe is a volunteer signature-gatherer for Michigan’s Reproductive Freedom for All ballot initiative.