LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed a new executive directive requiring state agencies and departments to determine ways to bolster reproductive health protections.
The directive also orders those agencies and departments to refrain from complying with any state’s investigation on those who receive or supply legal reproductive healthcare, according to the state. In addition, they must determine how to offer more options to safeguard physical, mental and reproductive health while also being transparent on costs, information and accessibility of safe contraceptives.
Read the full executive directive here.
Governor Whitmer issued the following statement:
“The right to safe, legal abortion in the State of Michigan is under attack. According to the recent draft opinion in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v Wade soon, taking away a right that Americans have had for 49 years. If Roe is overturned, Michigan’s 1931 law banning abortion even in cases of rape or incest and criminalizing doctors and nurses may go back into effect. This would punish women—our neighbors, family, and friends—and criminalize doctors and nurses for doing their jobs.
“In preparation for this very real possibility, I am signing an executive directive instructing all state departments and agencies not to cooperate with authorities from other states who want to prosecute women seeking legal abortion care. Also, the directive instructs departments and agencies to increase protections for reproductive healthcare within their purview and offer residents comprehensive information about the cost and availability of care.
“Now is the time to use every tool in our toolbox to protect all aspects of reproductive health care. No matter what happens in DC, I am going to fight like hell so every Michigander can make decisions about their own body. However we personally feel about abortion, health, not politics, should drive important medical decisions. A woman must be able to make her own medical decisions with the advice of a healthcare professional she trusts. Politicians should not make that decision for her.”
