Debate over abortion, Roe v. Wade emerging as key issue in race for Michigan governor
The debate over abortion rights is emerging as a key issue in the race for the next Michigan governor as voters prepare to go to the polls in the state's Aug. 7 primary.
President Trump's nomination of conservative Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court has reignited the debate over Roe V. Wade, the 1973 ruling that struck down many state laws criminalizing or banning abortion. Michigan still has abortion bans on the books, including one from more than a century ago.
"Michigan, theoretically, if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned by an increasingly conservative Supreme Court, experts say Michigan's law from the 1800s, most recently updated in 1931, would go back into effect immediately," said Jonathan Oosting, politics reporter for The Detroit News who recently reported on how the issue is shaping the gubernatorial campaign. "So candidates competing to take over and run this state are debating how they'd react in that scenario."
Four Republicans and three Democrats are vying to replace Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who is prevented from by term limits from running again.
On the Republican side, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and Attorney General Bill Schuette are considered the front runners. State Sen. Patrick Colbeck and Dr. Jim Hines are also running.
On the Democratic side, the presumptive favorite is former state Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer. She's facing off against two progressive candidates, Shri Thanedar and Abdul El-Sayed.
Oosting says for the most part, the Democratic candidates say they would work to repeal the old law right away, while Republicans would enforce the decades-old ban if the Supreme Court ever revisits Roe v. Wade and allows states to enact further restrictions on abortion.
"Come general election, I imagine it will be a very big issue," he said. "Whitmer, who is the front-runner on the Democratic side today, released a plan, in fact, for how she would protect Roe v. Wade in Michigan if elected governor."
