Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • 1 in 4 parents report being fired for work interruptions due to child care breakdowns

        Chabeli Carrazana · February 2
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
      • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

        Candice Norwood · August 17
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights

        Kate Sosin · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why baby formula is still hard to find months after the shortage

        Mariel Padilla · December 1
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Connecticut voters approved early voting. Here’s how their new secretary of state wants to make it happen.

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 13
      • Women lawmakers in Minnesota are in the vanguard of the democracy movement

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 3
      • Election workers believe in our system — and want everyone else to, too

        Barbara Rodriguez, Jennifer Gerson · November 8

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Election 2024
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Military
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th Represents Summit

Don’t miss our biggest event of 2023!

Register Today

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer attends an event on the White House campus.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer attends an event on the White House campus, in March 2022. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

Election 2022

With Roe overturned, governors in states like Michigan will shape what comes next

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer leads a state with a Republican-controlled legislature. The dynamic complicates her options in response to the overturning of federal abortion rights.

Barbara Rodriguez

State Politics and Voting Reporter

Barbara Rodriguez portrait

Published

2022-06-25 05:00
5:00
June 25, 2022
am

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — One by one, the group around the table told stories about their relationship to abortion: One spoke candidly about getting the procedure following a life-threatening pregnancy. Another discussed her work as a pastor counseling people on abortion. At least two talked about difficult and traumatic pregnancies and births.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, also seated at the table, nodded as she listened. At one point, the discussion prompted the governor to say something that she’s repeated in some variation in recent weeks.

“The most profound economic decision a woman makes in her lifetime is when and whether to have a child,” she said. “And so to take that ability to decide — to make that decision — is going to have huge ramifications on all women, but particularly women on the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum.”

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

The Wednesday roundtable event came just two days before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that had guaranteed the right to an abortion in America. The ruling returns the regulation of abortion back to states, and positions governors like Whitmer to be at the center of shaping policy for millions of people.

Whitmer is among a slew of Democratic governors who have been working to shore up abortion rights in their respective states. But as governors in states like California, New York and Illinois turn to Democratic majorities in the legislature to codify rules, Whitmer belongs to a smaller group of statewide executives who face political headwinds — and a reelection.

Republicans control both chambers of Michigan’s legislature. The state is also one of a handful with old abortion bans in the books that went dormant after the 1973 Roe ruling, creating current legal gray areas. On Friday, Whitmer released a statement that noted a 1931 Michigan law, which banned abortion without exceptions for rape or incest and included criminal penalties for providers, is on hold for now amid a lawsuit.

  • More abortion coverage
    A demonstrator holding a sign that reads
  • Roe v. Wade has been overturned. In these states, abortion access will no longer be accessible.
  • The Biden administration just hinted at how it could protect access to medication abortion
  • Here’s when each trigger law banning abortion could go into effect

Whitmer said she is “more determined than ever to protect access to safe, legal abortion.”

“I will fight like hell to protect every Michigander’s right to make decisions about their own body with the advice of a medical professional they trust. I will not give in or give up for my kids, your kids, and the future of our great state,” she said.

Whitmer is competing in one of 36 governors’ races around the country this year. Democrats hold the governor’s office in several states with Republican-controlled statehouses. The Supreme Court’s decision on Friday is expected to add urgency to midterm election races for governor and legislatures that could ultimately determine the future of abortion access.

“State legislatures are where these laws, good and bad, are being written. The decision today puts the most basic access to reproductive health care on the ballot this November, state by state,” said Simone Leiro, a spokesperson for the States Project, an advocacy organization that is funding efforts to win majorities in state legislatures that protect abortion. “Defending statehouse majorities that will protect abortion access is our last line of defense and our best means to stop these attacks where they’re happening in state legislatures.”

Whitmer has implied that abortion will become a key campaign issue.

“I don’t think there’s a choice here. We have to talk about it,” she told The 19th in an earlier interview on June 16. “This is going to have a dramatic impact on the lives of millions of people in my own state and not much less across the country. Abortion care is health care.”

  • The Latest:
    Greyed out map with text that reads
  • The Latest: What abortion looks like in every state — right now

Whitmer, 50, had indicated that she would not wait on the federal government to take action on abortion. A few weeks ago she instructed her state agencies not to cooperate with authorities attempting to prosecute someone who obtains, provides or assists with an abortion. She is also publicly supporting a ballot initiative aimed at adding abortion protection language to the state constitution. Led by groups including the ACLU of Michigan and Planned Parenthood of Michigan, its supporters have until July to gather enough signatures to qualify the amendment on the November ballot. Anti-abortion groups have vowed to defeat the measure if it gets to voters.

But the most consequential action from Whitmer may be legal efforts. She filed a lawsuit in April that asked the Michigan Supreme Court to recognize abortion as a right under the state constitution and to effectively strike down the 1931 abortion ban. She asked the court to fast-track a decision, an unusual move that she has authority to make as governor. (Last month, a lower court suspended enforcement of the law through a separate lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood of Michigan. The injunction, which is also being appealed, means the law is now technically in effect but not enforceable.)

On Friday, Whitmer filed a new motion urging the state Supreme Court to immediately consider her lawsuit.

A man wearing a leather jacket featuring an American flag waves his arms as he prays outside the Michigan State Capitol.
A christian group prays for anti-abortion candidates outside the state capitol building in Lansing, Michigan in October 2020. (John Moore/Getty Images)

“I’ve got unique tools here in Michigan that my counterparts don’t all have,” Whitmer told The 19th a few days before the Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe. “We also have a unique situation where we’re going to take one of the most dramatic swings in the nation. And so the combination of those two things I think has really propelled us to be more aggressive and more forward than perhaps some others.”

It’s also meant community outreach for Whitmer, who was elected in 2018 after several years serving in the Michigan statehouse. She said she’s holding a series of roundtables, including Wednesday’s event, around reproductive health. At her first roundtable a few weeks ago, Whitmer said she heard from a mother of three who made the decision to terminate a pregnancy because of the health needs of her children.

“Every time that there’s a conversation around someone’s lived experience it helps inform the work that we do to ensure we’re being more inclusive, we’re being more thoughtful in terms of finding empowered voices with unique perspectives so we broaden the conversation,” Whitmer said.

Want the latest abortion coverage?

Subscribe to The 19th News(letter), delivered to your inbox.

Please check your email to confirm your subscription!

Submitting…

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Whitmer was among the governors who gained national attention during the COVID-19 pandemic for challenging former President Donald Trump over his public health response. Early in the pandemic, Trump publicly criticized Whitmer and called her “the woman in Michigan.” Whitmer has been the subject of harassment and threats of violence as her profile has risen to the point of making the short list for vice presidential running mate for President Joe Biden during his 2020 bid.

Whitmer has advocated for abortion rights for years — work that has been personal at times.

“As a woman and as a sexual assault survivor, as the mother of two daughters, I have an inherent passion on this front,” Whitmer told The 19th.

Whitmer first spoke publicly about her sexual assault in 2013, when she was a state senator and was explaining her opposition to a Republican-led bill that would ban insurance coverage of abortion unless the pregnant person’s life is in danger. Whitmer said on the Senate floor that it was difficult to talk about being raped when she was a college student in the late 1980s.

  • Read More
    Anti-abortion demonstrators are seen in front of the Massachusetts Statehouse. In the foreground, a protester holds a signs on which an image of a baby is printed with the words
  • This anti-abortion group shapes laws nationwide. Your state may be next.
  • Liberal justices’ dissent sketches out ‘the loss of power, control, and dignity’ in a post-Roe America
  • From marriage equality to interracial marriage, Supreme Court conservatives appear divided on handling civil rights after Roe decision

“I think you need to see the face of the women that you are impacting by this vote today,” she told her colleagues back then. “I think you need to think of the girls that we are raising and what kind of a state we want to be where you would put your approval on something this extreme.”

Michigan Republicans have been discussing additional legislative actions in response to the Roe decision. Earlier this week, Republican Rep. Steve Carra introduced a bill that would enforce the 1931 abortion ban and update it. The bill proposes that a person who performs most abortions be guilty of a felony that would include up to 10 years of prison and fees of up to $100,000. Another provision would include a felony and prison time of up to 20 years for a person who manufactures, distributes or sells medications that induce abortions.

Carra said in a news release that he was responding in part to the legal ambiguity around the 1931 law.

“It is time to begin exploring other avenues to protect the sanctity of human life,” he said in a statement.

At Wednesday’s roundtable, the group vented about Michigan Republican lawmakers and the ramifications of more restrictions on abortion.

“This is a personal choice,” said an attendee who identified only as Taylor and who spoke about a complicated pregnancy and birth. “Abortion, reproductive care, is something that is emotional. It’s something that is going to invoke a response in almost everyone. But at the same time, it’s something that we should be able to decide for our own families, for our own lives.”

Alisha Meneely, another attendee who described herself as a “pro-choice Republican,” said while she disagrees with Whitmer on other policies, she has appreciated her approach to abortion. But Meneely was also realistic about what could happen next.

Protesters hold placards, chant, and march through downtown Detroit.
Protesters chant and march through downtown Detroit in support of Roe v Wade in April 2022. (Matthew Hatcher/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)

“There’s nothing that she’s going to be able to get done in regards to this subject through the legislature, it’s just going to be impossible,” she said. “She is going to have to rely on the Supreme Court ruling — ours — or getting this on the ballot.”

Meneely said Whitmer needs to hold more public events that feature women and others impacted by abortion. Some on the panel also said that they hadn’t yet signed the petition to get abortion rights on the ballot because they didn’t know about it.

“We definitely need to get some more groups out there that are having these conversations on a weekly basis and getting it in the media and talking about this a lot more loudly — just not behind closed doors,” Meneely said.

It’s unclear for now what Whitmer will be able to accomplish, but the governor seems to recognize that.

“We have pulled out all the stops. We’ve got three avenues to protect choice in Michigan. We are pursuing all of them,” she said. “We don’t know if any one of them will work. Maybe all three of them will be successful. We can’t make any assumptions though. And that’s why we’ve got to pursue each of these three avenues.”

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

The 19th Represents Summit

Don’t miss our biggest event of 2023!

Register Today

Become a member

Up Next

Photo illustration of Supreme Court justices with the writers of the Dobbs dissent emphasized

Abortion

Liberal justices’ dissent sketches out ‘the loss of power, control, and dignity’ in a post-Roe America

“After today, young women will come of age with fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers had,” Justice Stephen Breyer wrote.

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram