Michigan votes to preserve abortion access

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Results are in. The majority of voters in Michigan said ‘yes’ to the most controversial issue on the ballot. Proposal 3 passed with 57% of the expected vote. That means abortion will now be a constitutional right in Michigan.

Read: 2022 Michigan election results

“I’m so relieved. To me, it was always about freedom,” said nurse practitioner, Barbara Bruce. She’s been doing her job for 45 years and knows how complex abortion can be. “Physicians and nurses in the state of Michigan now are free from prosecution and that all options are available based on individual circumstances.”

When Roe V. Wade was overturned, reproductive rights in Michigan were in limbo. On Tuesday, the people of Michigan voted to change that. The state’s nearly century-old ban on abortion cannot be enforced.

Pro-life groups said they were hoping for a different outcome -- one that would protect the life of the child. “We’re grateful for the almost 2 million people that voted ‘No’ - it was great to see that kind of turnout. Of course we’re disappointed in the result. But we’re going to stay committed to our mission,” said Richard Budd of the Diocese of Lansing.

Right to Life of Michigan said, in part, “while our hearts are saddened, our resolve to courageously, peacefully advocate for the dignity of human life is not weakened. History is on the side of those who stand to defend the vulnerable, even when it is not easy.”

Budd said the Diocese of Lansing will “care for the least of these mothers in need, children in need, and we’re just going to continue to do that regardless of what the laws on the books say.”

It’s still an ongoing debate, but Tuesday gave Michigan voters certainty on the future of reproductive rights.

“I am the mother of three daughters, the grandmother of soon-to-be six granddaughters, and I want them to have the same freedoms that I’ve had in my life,” said Bruce.

Michigan wasn’t the only state to vote to protect abortion as a right. Voters in deeply conservative Kentucky defeated a proposed constitutional amendment that would have given lawmakers more control over abortion rules. Kentucky banned abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade. Abortion remains illegal. Right now, they are only being performed in medical emergencies.

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