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| photo credit: Mike Bowler Sr. / Flickr |
"Every individual has a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which entails the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management, and infertility care. An individual's right to reproductive freedom shall not be denied, burdened, nor infringed upon unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means. Notwithstanding the above, the state may regulate the provision of abortion care after fetal viability, provided that in no circumstance shall the state prohibit an abortion that, in the professional judgment of an attending health care professional, is medically indicated to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual."
The amendment goes on to say that the state's interest in regulating abortion is not "compelling" if it infringes on a woman's "autonomous decision-making." With that statement, along with the idea that abortion is protected when it is determined to protect the "mental health" of the mother, it is difficult to imagine any action the state could make to regulate abortion at all.
Abortion became illegal in Michigan after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, however, is refusing to enforce state law.
If ratified into the Michigan constitution, this amendment would nullify most or all pro-life laws. These include informed consent, parental consent, a 24-hour waiting period, a partial-birth abortion ban, born-alive infant protections, conscience protections for doctors, and more.
