New Michigan Ballot Measure Would Enshrine Abortion Protections
For Immediate Release:
January 12, 2022
Media Contact:
Caroline Sánchez Avakian, [email protected]
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new ballot measure has been proposed by advocates in Michigan that would enshrine abortion protections in the state constitution, ensuring safe and legal abortion access even if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
Michigan is one of 20+ states with “trigger” laws that will automatically outlaw abortion entirely if Roe is overturned. The new measure aims to remove Michigan from that list.
Ballot Initiative Strategy Center Executive Director Chris Melody Fields Figueredo issued the following statement:
“In a time when abortion access is facing its most serious threat in decades, this shows that defending direct democracy is more important than ever. The vast majority of voters support safe and legal abortion, and ballot measures are one of the most powerful tools we can use to protect reproductive freedom.
“Ballot measures protecting the right to abortion access are not unique to Michigan. In Nevada, a ballot measure codifying safe and legal abortion access passed back in the 1990s, and voters in Vermont will decide whether or not to do the same in the upcoming November elections.
“Michiganders have also turned to the ballot initiative process to tackle their state’s problems before — successfully establishing a redistricting commission that, while imperfect, reduced partisan gerrymandering significantly. We are proud to support the people and organizations on the ground in Michigan who are taking power into their own hands to protect abortion access.
“People across the country turn to ballot measures when they have found their elected leaders unable or unwilling to address the issues they care about. Access to safe and legal abortions is overwhelmingly popular, and more and more people will turn to direct democracy to proactively protect access as it becomes more severely threatened.
“That’s why it’s more important than ever to guard against the attacks we are seeing on direct democracy playing out across the states. These attacks are part of the broader pattern we saw play out last year, when voting rights and voting access were threatened across the country.
“Ballot measures are the people’s tool. And it’s up to the people to protect it. Now more than ever, we cannot forfeit this essential tool of direct democracy.”