We know that there is more work to be done. The threat of a federal law banning abortion still looms.
National Council of Jewish Women, Michigan lauds the hard work, the coalition building and the educational outreach in which Michiganders engaged in order to pass Proposal 3, making Michigan the first state in the United States to pass a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment that guarantees the right to abortion and other reproductive health services.
Michigan voters are to be praised for cutting through the disinformation some candidates spewed and the misleading signage that was on display throughout the state, and for recognizing the real threat that failure to pass the Reproductive Freedom for All ballot proposal posed.
With a law from 1931 on the books, failure to pass Prop 3 would result in the possible enforcement of a law that banned almost all abortions, with no exception for rape or incest, and made abortion a felony. Of particular concern to Jews was the disregard paid to the diversity on how different religions, and even denominations within a religion, define when life begins.
In the spring, lawsuits were filed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer with the Michigan Supreme Court and Planned Parenthood of Michigan with the Michigan Court of Claims to determine if abortion is constitutionally protected in Michigan.
But Michiganders could not and did not wait. People from across our state gave thousands of hours of their time to fundraise, build coalitions, educate neighborhood and affinity groups, knock on doors, and make phone calls — all to protect a right that Americans have possessed for almost 50 years. It became their mission to cement the right to reproductive healthcare, bodily autonomy and religious freedom for themselves and for future generations. They succeeded!
We know that there is more work to be done. The threat of a federal law banning abortion still looms.
The same fight must now be won on the national level to pass legislation to protect an individual’s right to make reproductive decisions and to secure access to all healthcare services, including abortion.
We recognize this difficult path, but we have a re-energized population that has seen what grassroots advocacy can achieve. The threat to losing a freedom that many have possessed during their childbearing years and educating their young women about the direct affect on their lives, led to an increase in women registering and voting in these midterms. There was also a noted increase in voter turnout among young voters, with both students from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University being cited as having a large number of students going to the polls.
We have learned that ballot initiatives are a useful tool where a gap exists between what voters want and what state legislatures are willing to do. It is an important lesson, and one we intend to keep in the forefront of the minds of our elected officials, and one on which we are ready to act when necessary.
Linda Levy and Lynn Lieberman are state policy advocates for the National Council of Jewish Women, Michigan.