LANSING, Mich — Michigan's so-called "Right to Reproductive Freedom" amendment to the constitution is being challenged in court.
The Right to Reproductive Freedom amendment—called Proposal 3 on the November 2022 ballot—passed by nearly 600,000 votes, enshrining reproductive freedom into the Michigan Constitution.
Right to Life of Michigan, three GOP lawmakers, and several others are suing Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
The lawsuit claims that the voter-approved amendment oversteps, infringing on the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.
"At no time in our nation’s history has such a super-right, immune from all legislative action, ever been created by a popular vote outside of the checks and balances of a republican form of government," the lawsuit reads.
The plaintiffs claim that the reproductive freedom amendment deprives people of their religious freedoms, as well as depriving women and "preborn human beings" of their due process.
The lawsuit is asking for a permanent injunction that will stop enforcement of Proposal 3.
Michigan Representatives Gina Johnson and Luke Meerman, alongside Michigan Senator Joseph Bellino Jr. were listed as plaintiffs in the suit, alongside The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Christian Medical and Dental Associations, Crossroads Care Center and Save The 1.
Also named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit is "Jane Roe," a fictitious name that represents all fetuses in Michigan.
In a statement, Planned Parenthood of Michigan's President and CEO, Paula Thornton Greear, responded to the lawsuit:
“Today, anti-abortion activists and Republican lawmakers in Michigan filed a lawsuit to undermine Michigan voters and strip them of their fundamental right to reproductive freedom. Worse, they’re doing it on the first anniversary of the passage of Prop 3, when Michiganders voted overwhelmingly in support of amending the state constitution to protect the right to sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion.
As we saw last year in Michigan and again last night in Ohio: abortion is a winning issue. The Republican party knows it, too, but rather than admit that they are dramatically out of step with American values and American voters, they resort to dirty tactics like these instead. This baseless lawsuit is nothing but a brazen political attempt to overturn the will of the people and impose dangerous anti-abortion policies on an electorate that doesn’t want them.”
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
