Joint Statement on the Overturning of Roe v Wade and Michigan's 1931 Ban on Abortions

"The Hispanic Latino Commission of Michigan and the Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs are exceptionally concerned and taken aback after hearing of the leaked opinion from the Supreme Court regarding the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade.

We recognize that through the overturning of Roe v. Wade several states in the U.S., including Michigan, have preexisting laws that would ban abortions and in many cases the laws are all encompassing.

In the case of Michigan, the 1931 ban on abortions prohibits all abortions unless to preserve the life of the mother. Such a law does not take into consideration minors facing pregnancy due to sexual assault, survivors of rape and the wide variety of individual and unique circumstances of each woman’s reproductive health situation.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has adamantly spoken out about the overturning of Roe v. Wade and how the implementation of state abortion bans would have long-term reproductive health consequences for women, more specifically, indigent and marginalized women. She has explained the multiple ways that such bans would result in poor reproductive health outcomes and high emotional and financial costs for women.

Dr. Walensky has noted that traveling long distances to acquire abortions can result in considerable costs for women in precarious financial situations. Additionally, she has mentioned that many women would likely seek unsafe abortions which could result in problematic or dangerous procedures by unlicensed providers.

We understand that Governor Gretchen Whitmer filed a lawsuit and used her executive authority to ask the Michigan Supreme Court to immediately resolve whether Michigan’s Constitution protects the right to abortion. We support this inquiry into whether the right to an abortion in Michigan is indeed protected by the state constitution. It is our hope that the reproductive rights of women in the state of Michigan be upheld."

Joint statement on behalf of the Hispanic Latino Commission of Michigan and the Commission on Middle Eastern Affairs regarding the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the 1931 Michigan Ban on abortions.