A Potential Michigan Ballot Initiative Could Give Voters a Powerful, Direct Way to Support Reproductive Rights
It's a bad sign that effective democracy means circumventing politicians' BS, but here we are.
Every time a Democratic politician has responded to the current crisis around people’s ability to choose what’s best for their own bodies and lives by foisting responsibility onto voters, I want to unleash an ugly, existential scream. The fact that one of those politicians is Joe Biden, the freaking president, one of the most powerful people in the world, means that we’re living with hopelessly ineffective politicians working within a broken system. Perhaps that sounds jaded. But this has not been a week that has inspired confidence in America’s democratic experiment. One small bit of consolation for me is that activists in Michigan, my state of residence, are pushing for a ballot initiative that would enshrine a person’s right to choose into the state’s constitution—without having to involve or entrust a single politician.
As a “purple state,” Michigan often functions as a litmus test for the rest of the country. Furthermore, it’s one of two states that went for Biden 2020 whose residents would suddenly find themselves unable to exercise their right to an abortion (the other is Wisconsin). If you’re not familiar with the situation in Michigan, it’s bad. In the seemingly inevitable event that Roe v. Wade is overturned, Michigan would revert back to a 1931 law that bans abortions and criminalizes them as a felony. The only exception is when the mother’s life is at risk. So … very, very bad.
On the plus side, Michigan has a Democratic Attorney General, Dana Nessel, who has vowed not to enforce the law, and a Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, who filed a lawsuit aimed at making Michigan’s Supreme Court recognize the right to abortion. Whitmer deserves props for her foresight on this one: she filed the lawsuit on April 6th, weeks ahead of the leaked Supreme Court decision. Of course, there’s a copious slew of items on the negative side, too. Michigan’s state legislature is controlled by Republicans who are elated about the Supreme Court decision. And both Whitmer and Nessel face re-election in November. If they lose, the forces protecting Michiganders’ right to choose go up in flames. (And, yes, the actual name for someone who lives in Michigan is “Michigander.” Apparently, it was a joke made by Abraham Lincoln. Good one, innit?)
It’s a scary, tenuous, and precarious situation to be in. I, for one, don’t want to live in a state where my rights over my own goddamn body are on the ballot every two to four years. That’s not just a toll on people’s physical health—it’s a significant toll on mental health, too. That imminent reality has made powerful, federal-level figures like Biden saying, “Well, gee, I guess it’s up to the voters!” even more infuriating and exhausting. People deserve lasting solutions to these attempts to do away with our rights. We’ve already voted you into power because you campaigned on a platform that addressed those solutions. But I guess you’re not going to do anything, huh? So, as usual, it’s up to grassroots activists to fix the politicians’ mess.
Fortunately, pro-choice activists in Michigan have come up with a refreshingly clever solution: have the people vote on amending the state’s constitution to guarantee reproductive rights over their bodies. Michigan is one of twenty-seven states (if we include DC as a state) that allows residents to vote on ballot initiatives, which immediately become statewide legislation if passed at the ballot box. The ins and outs of these ballot initiatives differ from state to state. But in Michigan, we can directly amend the state’s constitution. What? The American people actually can have power? WEIRD.
According to the Detroit Free Press, amendments to the state’s constitution are difficult to change once codified. The language of the initiative takes advantage of that cementation and leaves no wiggle room. It begins: “Every individual has a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which entails the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management, and infertility care.”
The coalition behind the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative is called Reproductive Freedom for All, which consists of Michigan’s chapters of the ALCU and Planned Parenthood, as well as Michigan Voices. In order for the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative to get on the ballot in November, Reproductive Freedom for All has to gather 425,059 signatures from Michigan voters by July 11. This cannot be done online. Even if you sign the online form that you want to sign the petition, this requires volunteers to go door-to-door and gather signatures the old-fashioned way. If you live in Michigan and want to volunteer or find a petition to sign, go to RFFA’s website.
Hopefully, this ballot initiative gets enough signatures to get on the November 2022 ballot. Amidst all the exhausting and scapegoat-y calls to vote from powerful politicians, this initiative would actually reward your vote with direct action. The importance of that directness cannot be overstated right now. This era is defined by an ineffective DNC that’s constantly thwarted by Republicans tweaking whatever the hell can still be called “rules” for their own benefit. So there’s something incredibly liberating about bypassing political BS entirely. Is that a good sign for American democracy? Absolutely not! We should be able to trust that the people we elect will act on and reflect the will of the majority of Americans! But that’s simply not the case right now, and this is urgent as hell.
Voters in 26 states can follow Michigan activists’ example and start a ballot initiative to codify these rights. Unfortunately, the also-besieged Wisconsin is not one of these states, speaking to the urgency of the federal solution that won’t come. But Michigan activists had a damn good idea, if you ask me. I know you’re exhausted and burned out. I am, too. (I made phone calls ahead of the 2020 election—I am so burned out.) But this is at least one action that would make an immediate and very palpable difference.
Image credit: David Ryder/Getty Images
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