Michigan GOPers Sue To Overturn New Abortion Rights Amendment

The fanatical forced birthers have trotted out a new tactic in their war to control women’s lives and bodies. Suing to overturn a ballot initiative to amend a state constitution to enshrine abortion and other reproductive rights. My jaw dropped when I read this article by Newsweek. Most of the news was about the abortion rights constitutional amendment in Ohio, and how the issue helped Democrats in Virginia hold the state Senate and flip the House. Oh, and tank VA Governor Glenn Youngkin’s fledgling Presidential campaign that was set to launch Wed. morning. It also helped Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear who won by only about 5k votes four years ago to a comfortable win in RED Kentucky.

Because of all that, Michigan which now has a Democratic controlled state government kind of flew under the radar. However, that state had it’s own abortion/reproductive rights ballot initiative Tuesday:

Several states saw major wins for abortion rights, including Michigan. About 56.7 percent of Michigan voters approved an amendment to the state’s constitution that guarantees the “fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” which includes abortion care.

It was no surprise voters there passed it handily. Republican legislators and various forced birth groups are all butt-hurt over that so they are suing on constitutional grounds to overturn that vote.  For fifty years conservatives, in particular “Christian” ones fought like hell to overturn Roe v Wade. Their argument was that abortion should be a matter for individual states to decide on their own. Basically, go back to the days when access to the procedure depended on where a woman lived, or her ability to travel to another state. Given the political network they developed during all those decades it was clear long before Dobbs that in a whole bunch of red states draconian measures would be passed by lawmakers if SCOTUS took away the constitutional right granted by Roe and reinforced in subsequent rulings.

Well, thanks to the unholy alliance of The Federalist Society and Trump with Mitch McConnell directing the Senate Symphony the Supreme Court got packed with enough “Justices” to do what conservative claimed they wanted. Let the states decide for themselves on abortion. And other reproductive rights. No time was wasted, and quite a few states had “trigger laws” set to take effect if and when Roe was overturned. However, they had a problem. Legislators (mostly men) counted on all those votes and money from the forced birthers but that crowd was always according to polling a minority. An active one that invested lots of time and money but a minority. Even in red states a majority of people didn’t want abortion banned, or most of the time even seriously curtailed.

States, many of them also allowed for different methods to amend their state constitutions. One of them is by ballot initiative as in voters gathering enough signatures to place something on the ballot. What we’ve seen since Dobbs is ballot initiatives to amend state constitutions to ban abortions and others to allow it. Either way, the forced birthers have lost each and every time! Yes, polling has with reason come under fire in recent times but on this issue it’s been solid and correct. A strong majority of people even in red states believe abortion should be legal. Ok, so there are some differences about how late in a pregnancy so-called “abortion on demand” should be available but the bottom line is that people, voters don’t like legislators getting involved in such personal decisions. Even in red states. 

According to the Michigan lawsuit the newly passed state constitutional amendment creates a “super right” to “reproductive freedom.” Say what? If anyone out there knows of this argument being part of a lawsuit about constitutional matters (either state or federal) please speak up. I’ve never heard of such a concept until now but it’s at the heart of what the asshats in Michigan are claiming:

“At no time in our nation’s history has such a super-right, immune from all legislative action, ever been created by a popular vote outside of the checks and balances of a republican form of government,” the lawsuit says.

For a long time now constitutional amendments have been added to state constitutions without someone claiming they created a “super-right.” Here’s a question for these goobers – had a ballot initiative severely limiting or outright banning abortion passed in a RED state, say Kansas would you be claiming it was unconstitutional? Or created a “super-right” for fetuses which according to you are full human beings from the moment of conception? I sure as hell hope that will be asked when this gets into a courtroom.

The fact is states have as part of their constitutions ways to amend said constitution just as the federal government does. It’s not an easy thing to do but there are ways it can be done. And, like many states Michigan law allows constitutional amendments that are approved by ballot measure. End of story, at least from where I sit. Still, the fanatics are throwing anything they can dream up at the wall hoping that something sticks and they can invade people’s private lives including family planning and medical decisions. Gov. Whitmer’s Press Secretary put it well:

“It shouldn’t be lost on people that these right-wing organizations and radical Republicans in the Michigan Legislature are cherry-picking courts to try to once again overturn a constitutionally guaranteed right because they can’t win with voters.”

Keep an eye on this because I have a feeling you’ll see a version of this new, batsh*t insane legal theory being used in Ohio and elsewhere by GOPers who just can’t accept that a strong majority of people want to be able to make their own choices when it comes to reproductive rights. I’m quite sure The Federalist Society had a hand in this, and will wind up trying to push it all the way up to SCOTUS eventually.

Don’t ever think for one minute that this fight is over. The late Barry Goldwater was right when he spoke of the rising political influence of “Christian Conservatives” noting they are so damned sure they are right and everyone else is wrong and they simply can’t be reasoned with.  This is a fight that will never, NEVER end and we have to be ready every single election to defeat candidates all the way down the ballot who are forced birthers.