LANSING, Mich. — A petition to let Michiganders vote on an amendment that would ensure access to a broad range of reproductive health care, including abortion, has surpassed the required number of signatures.
Reproductive Freedom for All (RFFA) announced Monday that they have surpassed the 425,059 required signatures to get abortion access on the November ballot.
This comes after a surge of volunteers and signees mobilized following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade.
Volunteers gathered 753,759 signatures from every county and turned them in to the Michigan Secretary of State Monday as part of the certification process.
If the petition signatures are certified, the measure will be put on the ballot in November, letting Michiganders decide the fate of abortion rights in the state.
If at least 51 percent of Michiganders vote "Yes" for the ballot measure in November, the state's constitution will be amended.
Michigan currently has a 1931 trigger law on the books that criminalize abortion, but that law has been suspended by a preliminary injunction by Judge Elizabeth Gleicher of the Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals.
The injunction is a result of a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood of Michigan and an abortion provider earlier this year. The suit argues the ban is unconstitutionally vague and violates the right to liberty, bodily integrity, equal protection and privacy.
Despite the injunction, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker says, "I do not believe it proper for me to simply ignore a law, any law, that was passed by the Michigan Legislature and signed by the Governor."
"I have always held it would be improper for me to pick and choose the laws I wish to enforce that have validly passed and signed. I will not start now."
You can read Becker's full statement here.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is also urging the Michigan Supreme Court to immediately consider the lawsuit she filed recently to decide if Michigan's state constitution protects the right to abortion.
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