LANSING (WWJ) — The Michigan Legislative Black Caucus, spearheaded by Sen. Marshall Bullock, slammed the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health case which effectively ended the constitutional right to abortion in the United States.
"This is some bull—," the coalition fired off in a statement released via Twitter on Friday.
"The attack on reproductive rights is a travesty. This decision will have a devastating impact on already glaring health care disparities in Black and Brown communities," the statement continued. "Denying women the right to control their own body and to make their own health care choices only further exasperates the ongoing assault on Black and brown communities across the nation."
The caucus further wrote that they would continue to do everything to keep safe abortion services accessible to Black and Brown women in Michigan regardless of income or location.
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"Not only will we continue to combat the challenges of Black maternal mortality and health disparities in our communities, but we are committed to our pursuit of gender, racial and economic justice, including reproductive health care and rights for all..."
The coalition reiterated sentiments made by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to WWJ's Tony Ortiz on Friday, assuring the public that abortion is still legal in Michigan — for the moment.
"We urge residents to continue seeking care if they need it. Appointments at Planned Parenthood clinics are still being honored and can still be made," the caucus said.
The governor filed a lawsuit back in April, asking the Michigan Supreme Court to recognize a constitutional right to an abortion under the Due Process Clause of the Michigan Constitution.
It also asks the court to stop enforcement of the 1931 Michigan abortion ban.
The law reads as follows:
“Administering drugs, etc., with intent to procure miscarriage — Any person who shall willfully administer to any pregnant woman any medicine, drug, substance or thing whatever, or shall employ any instrument or other means whatever, with intent thereby to procure the miscarriage of any such woman, unless the same shall have been necessary to preserve the life of such woman, shall be guilty of a felony, and in case the death of such pregnant woman be thereby produced, the offense shall be deemed manslaughter.” (Read the law HERE).
Whitmer filed a motion in court shortly after the Supreme Court's ruling was made public on Friday, in an effort to expedite the Michigan Supreme Court's decision on her lawsuit.
"Should our injunction on the 1931 law get taken away, we would revert to a law that is 91-years-old that would make [abortion] a felony in Michigan and have no exception for rape or incest," Whitmer explained. "That's why this is a sobering and scary moment for so many."
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