GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Michiganders have secured their right to reproductive freedom after voting to pass Proposal 3.
The Associated Press projected the ballot proposal would pass around 3:30 Wednesday morning.
The petition for the proposal set a record with more than 730,000 valid voter signatures, with momentum coming after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
The proposal guarantees "every individual has a fundamental right to reproductive freedom," which includes the right to make decisions about pregnancy.
Those decisions include "prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management, and infertility care."
The proposal allows lawmakers to ban or regulate abortions "after fetal viability," which is usually around the 24-week mark. However, the state would not be able to regulate abortions that are medically necessary to protect the "physical or mental health" of the woman.
It also prohibits the state from prosecuting anyone "based on their actual, potential, perceived, or alleged pregnancy outcome," which could include miscarriages, stillbirths or abortion.
"Michigan has made history as the first state in the nation to pass an affirmative citizen-initiated constitutional amendment to guarantee the right to an abortion. But we will not be the last. This victory will provide a blueprint to other states looking to use the power of direct democracy to restore reproductive rights previously protected under Roe," Planned Parenthood Executive Director, Nicole Sells Stallworth said in a release Wednesday morning.
Ballot Summary - Proposal 22-3
A proposal to amend the state constitution to establish new individual right to reproductive freedom, including right to make all decisions about pregnancy and abortion; allow state to regulate abortion in some cases; and forbid prosecution of individuals exercising established right
This proposed constitutional amendment would:
- Establish new individual right to reproductive freedom, including right to make and carry out all decisions about pregnancy, such as prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion, miscarriage management, and infertility;
- Allow state to regulate abortion after fetal viability, but not prohibit if medically needed to protect a patient’s life or physical or mental health;
- Forbid state discrimination in enforcement of this right; prohibit prosecution of an individual, or a person helping a pregnant individual, for exercising rights established by this amendment;
- Invalidate state laws conflicting with this amendment.
You can find full election results and more 2022 midterm coverage on the FOX 17 website.
