Michigan Legislature Repeals Governor’s Lockdown That Closed Churches But Open Abortion Clinics

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jul 21, 2021   |   3:26PM   |   Lansing, Michigan

The Michigan state legislature has officially voted to repeal the emergency powers declaration pro-abortion Governor Gretchen Whitmer used to force COVID lockdowns on the state that closed churches but left abortion clinics open to kill babies.

The Michigan House of Representatives voted today 60-48 to repeal the Emergency Powers Act used by the governor and that chamber’s vote comes after the Michigan Senate voted 20-15 to repeal on July 15. The legislature’s vote for repeal also two days after the state Board of Canvassers certified that Unlock Michigan could put a repeal measure on the state ballot. Now the measure is no longer needed.

Here’s more:

“Hundreds of thousands of our families, friends and neighbors changed Michigan forever when they decided they had enough and stood up to make a difference,” said Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Farwell, in a statement.

“They deserve a state government that is willing to do the same. They’ve earned that much. That’s why we had their back today and put this petition into law.”

Organizers of the petition drive, a group called Unlock Michigan, heralded Wednesday’s vote and promised additional campaigns.

“Our Unlock Michigan citizen army collected over 540,000 signatures in just 80 days. Now, 292 days later, we’ll complete our mission with a final vote in the Legislature to end Gov. Whitmer’s rule by decree,” said Fred Wszolek, a spokesman for the Unlock Michigan petition drive.

“Next we’ll turn our attention to the public health law Whitmer abused to destroy lives, businesses and futures. Don’t bet against our success there either.”

Last year, Catholic leaders slammed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for declaring elective abortions “life sustaining” while restricting people from buying seeds to grow their own food.

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Whitmer’s restrictions during the coronavirus crisis are among the strictest of all state executive orders, and Michiganders have protested in large numbers in recent days. Whitmer issued executive order 2020-42, which ultimately went into effect on April 9, and mandates that big box-type stores restrict access to portions of their stores as a means of reducing the number of customers in certain areas. Those sections include lawn and garden. Essentially the order limits the purchase of gardening supplies, seeds, tools and other necessary items for people to grow their own food at home, critics say.

But amid all her restrictions, the Democrat governor allowed an exemption for a favorite ally of hers: the abortion industry.

“How can Governor Whitmer on the one hand prohibit medical surgeries and the growth of food through gardening yet refer to a procedure that intentionally destroys a developing human person as ‘life sustaining?’” the Michigan Catholic Conference responded in a statement.

The Catholic bishops slammed the governor for putting money and special interest lobbying groups ahead of her state’s own residents. They urged her to focus on “the needs of the people of Michigan, not the demands of the abortion industry.”

Last Thursday, Whitmer tried to defend her decision to allow elective abortions while restricting other necessary medical procedures.

“A woman’s healthcare, her whole future, her ability to decide if and when she starts a family is not an election, it is a fundamental to her life,” Whitmer said on Axe Files podcast. “It is life sustaining and it’s something that government should not be getting in the middle of. ”

The bishops called out her double-speak, responding, “The logic is removed from reality: night is not day; war is not peace.”

Though Whitmer’s statement is outrageous and illogical, the bishops said they were not surprised by it. They referred to her long political history of supporting the killing of unborn babies for any reason up to birth.

A tweet recently surfaced of Whitmer donning a pink Planned Parenthood hat in 2018 that mocked President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.” Whitmer is shown in a pink t-shirt and matching ball cap with white words emblazoned across it that read, “Planned Parenthood Makes America Great.” She captioned her selfie with, “The future is bright…. and pink!”

“Her comments indicate how easily candidates for higher office are pushed into a dark corner by the abortion industry. Joe Biden’s abdication of his forty-year support for the Hyde Amendment no doubt paved the way,” the bishops said, noting the political influence of the billion-dollar abortion industry.

The Catholic leaders urged the governor to stop and think about “the wounds her comments have created for countless people in this state and elsewhere.”

Tens of thousands of people in Michigan lost their jobs because of Whitmer’s restrictions during the coronavirus, and now they cannot even buy seeds to plant gardens to feed their families. Individuals are not allowed to use their own motor boats and vacation homes to social distance either.

Meanwhile, Michigan abortion facilities continued business as usual.