Michigan activists submitted a record number of signatures to qualify for a ballot initiative to preserve reproductive rights and abortion access.
The Michigan ACLU reports that the Reproductive Freedom For All (RFFA) with its volunteers turned in 753,759 signatures from all 83 counties in the state. In order to qualify, 425,059 valid signatures of registered Michigan voters are required. If enough signatures qualify, the proposal will be on the November ballot.
More than 2,000 RFFA volunteers collected more signatures than any other ballot initiative in state history.
The campaign launched in January, but after the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision in June, the number of volunteers doubled to more than 62,000 throughout the state. Michigan’s population is just shy of 10 million, with 8 million registered voters.
The RFFA would amend the Michigan constitution to affirm “that every person has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which involves the right to make and carry out decisions without political interference about all matters relating to pregnancy, including birth control, abortion, prenatal care, and childbirth.”
Specifically, “this measure will ensure that all Michiganders have the right to safe and respectful care during birthing, everyone has the right to use temporary or permanent birth control, everyone has the right to continue or end a pregnancy pre-viability, and no one can be punished for having a miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion.”
Michigan has a 1931 trigger law on the books that bans all abortions except to save the life of the mother, but a judge issued a temporary order to withhold enforcement of the law.