Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed bipartisan legislation repealing the state’s 1931 law banning abortion without exceptions for rape or incest and criminalizing nurses and doctors for doing their jobs.
Last year, Michiganders turned out in record numbers to get Proposal 3 on the ballot and enshrine reproductive freedom in the state constitution. The new laws remove the unconstitutional 1931 law from the books and ensure that Michiganders can make their own decisions about their own bodies.
“In November, Michiganders sent a clear message: we deserve to make our own decisions about own bodies,” said Governor Whitmer. “Today, we are coming together to repeal the extreme 1931 law banning abortion without exceptions for rape or incest and criminalizing nurses and doctors for doing their jobs. Standing up for people’s fundamental freedoms is the right thing to do and it’s also just good economics. By getting this done, we will help attract talent and business investment too. I will continue to use every tool in my toolbox to support, protect, and affirm reproductive freedom for every Michigander, and I’ll work with anyone to make Michigan a welcoming beacon of opportunity where anyone can envision a future.”
At the signing, the governor and lieutenant governor were joined by bill sponsors and representatives from Planned Parenthood, NARAL, EMILY’s LIST, and the Committee to Protect.
With today’s signing, Michigan joins 10 other states who have moved to protect reproductive freedoms and access to safe, legal abortion in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson. The decision to become a parent or grow a family is one of the biggest economic decisions a person will make in their lifetime. Over 2/3rds of Michiganders support Roe v. Wade and want to repeal our 1931 law banning abortion. 77% of Michiganders believe that abortion should be a woman’s decision to make with a medical professional.
House Bill 4006 repeals the section of the Penal Code which prescribes a felony for administering to a pregnant woman any medicine, drug, or substance, or employing any instrument or other means, with intent to procure a miscarriage, unless it is necessary to protect the life of the mother. HB 4006 also repeals the section of the Penal Code which prescribes a misdemeanor penalty for a person who advertises, publishes, or sells any pills, powder, drugs or combination of drugs, designed expressly for the use of females for the purpose of procuring an abortion.
Senate Bill 2 repeals Section 40 of the Michigan Penal Code, which prohibits the publication or sale of any circular, pamphlet or book that contains recipes for compounds to prevent conception or that tend to produce miscarriage or abortion.
House Bill 4032 deletes the sentencing guidelines to conform with the repeal of the Penal Code sections in HB 4006.
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