Abortion rights are on the ballot in Michigan and elsewhere

Election Day is next Tuesday, so it's time for me to return my attention to the candidates and issues on Americans' ballots. One of those issues is abortion rights. FiveThirtyEight examined this issue in my adopted home state in Voters Will Decide The Future Of Abortion Rights In Michigan.

On Election Day, Michigan voters will vote on an amendment that could enshrine the right to abortion in the state’s constitution. This comes after an abortion law from 1931 was ruled enforceable following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June. Abortion is currently legal in the state, because of the ruling against the 1931 law. However, without the amendment, that law could end up banning abortion in most cases.

That's a good summary of the issue and how it ties into the Governor's contest between Gretchen Whitmer and Tudor Dixon, as well as the state of the race right now. I'm confident Big Gretch will win, although the FiveThirtyEight forecast is no guarantee. That's why my wife and I voted for her and Proposal 3.

PBS NewsHour added more analysis and context in Abortion rights on the ballot in several states this election.

Just 11% of Americans who are voting this year say abortion is the number one issue deciding their vote, according to the latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll. But abortion is on the ballot in some states after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Zoe Clark of Michigan Radio and Ryland Barton of Kentucky Public Radio joined Amna Nawaz to discuss the debates taking place at the state level.

I hadn't heard of the ballot measure in Kentucky, which really looks like a funhouse mirror version of Michigan's. The two made for an interesting contrast while still pointing out the valid comparisons between the two. Here's to hoping Kentucky's ballot measure fails like the one in Kansas.

Returning to Michigan, MSNBC's Ali Velshi reported Lies Run Rampant About Prop 3 In MI But All It Does Is “Restore Our Rights Under Roe” last month.

“How sick does a patient have to get before we can provide her evidence-based, life-saving care without risking arrest?” That’s the kind of dystopian question that medical professionals have to ask themselves when treating pregnant people in post-Roe America, says Dr. Gregory Goyert, an OB-GYN based in Detroit. “We’re going backwards for our girls,” says Warren [sic — Wayne] County Prosecution [sic — Prosecuting] Attorney Kym Worthy. It’s why the passage of Proposal 3, a ballot measure that would enshrine abortion rights in Michigan’s constitution, is so important. Yet as Election Day nears, Worthy notes that disinformation about it has become rampant. “That’s what happens when people know on the opposing side that the majority of Michiganders want Prop 3 to pass.”

I enjoyed that segment, especially listening to Kym Worthy. She pointed out the real crimes she wants to focus on, not prosecuting doctors for actions that should not be illegal.

Stay tuned for more election coverage.