Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered state agencies Wednesday to find new ways to promote the killing of unborn babies in abortions in anticipation that the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade this summer.
The Center Square reports the Democrat governor’s executive directive applies to all state departments and agencies, and orders them to find ways to increase “protections” for abortions and abortionists.
“The right to safe, legal abortion in the State of Michigan is under attack,” Whitmer said in a statement. “According to the recent draft opinion in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn soon, taking away a right that Americans have had for 49 years.”
Michigan has a pre-Roe abortion ban that would go back into effect if the Supreme Court overturns the 1973 ruling. The law would save nearly 30,000 unborn babies from abortion every year; however, Whitmer and pro-abortion groups are challenging it in court.
Her order Wednesday tells all “State of Michigan departments and agencies to review aspects of reproductive health care that fall within their jurisdiction and identify and assess potential opportunities to increase protections for reproductive health care, such as contraception, long-acting reversible contraception, and emergency contraception,” according to the governor’s office.
The governor also told state agencies to actively promote “reproductive care” to Michigan women, instructing them to “provide accessible, comprehensive information about the cost and availability of” abortion and other reproductive services, according to 9&10 News.
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Additionally, Whitmer’s order bans state departments and agencies from cooperating with authorities in other states on the investigation or prosecution of abortionists who violate other states’ pro-life laws.
Whitmer claimed authorities from pro-life states “want to prosecute women seeking legal abortion care,” but that is not true. Pro-life laws specifically exempt mothers from punishment, and pro-life leaders recently issued a joint statement opposing the prosecution of mothers who have abortions. Pro-life advocates believe abortionists, not mothers, should be punished for aborting unborn babies.
The order received praise from state Attorney General Dana Nessel, a pro-abortion Democrat. Nessel said she will not enforce the state’s pre-Roe abortion ban if the Supreme Court allows it to go back into effect.
But pro-life leaders questioned Whitmer’s action, wondering if her administration will turn a blind eye to filthy abortion businesses that put women’s and babies’ lives at risk.
“So if this happens again in Michigan, is Governor Whitmer directing officials not to investigate it?” Right to Life of Michigan responded, pointing to a 2013 case involving a Muskegon abortion facility that was shut down after local authorities noticed unsanitary conditions inside.
“That clinic escaped health regulators for years, and the troubled abortionist managed to escape what limited investigations there were,” the pro-life organization wrote on Twitter.
Michigan has a pro-life Republican legislature, but pro-abortion Democrats hold the offices of governor and attorney general.
Many expect the Supreme Court will overturn Roe this summer after a leaked draft shows the majority ruling against the 1973 abortion decision in the Mississippi case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. If that happens, states will be allowed to protect unborn babies again, and experts predict as many as 26 will do so.
Since 1973, more than 63 million unborn babies have been legally aborted.
