Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order refusing to extradite women who come to Michigan seeking reproductive health care. It also protects providers of legal abortion in Michigan, who will not have to fear being extradited for prosecution in another state for offering reproductive health care.
Currently, there are laws and legislative proposals across the country supported by the GOP that would make it felony for a woman to seek abortion care, and for a doctor to provide it. If enacted, women and doctors could face jail time. Proposals also exist to punish a woman who decides to cross state lines to obtain an abortion. In Michigan, a proposal exists to imprison health care providers for up to 10 years if they help a woman get an abortion. The GOP legislature is also in court defending Michigan’s 1931 near total abortion ban that does not include exceptions for rape or incest.
The majority of women who seek abortion care are mothers already, trying to take care of the children they already have.
“After the overturn of Roe v Wade and the ensuing implementation of a series of extreme bans on abortion that criminalize women and medical professionals across the country, visitors to Michigan must know that they can access reproductive health care within our borders without fear of extradition. That is why I signed an executive order today refusing to cooperate with out-of-state law enforcement seeking to punish women for seeking health care,” said Governor Whitmer. “ I will stand up for all women, even if their local and statewide leaders refuse to. Michigan must remain a place where a person’s basic rights are preserved. In this existential moment for fundamental rights, it is incumbent on every elected official who believes that health—not politics—should guide medical decisions to take bold action. ”
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