LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel answered questions after the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe V. Wade.
Roe V. Wade made abortion legal across the nation. With it overturned, individual state governments will be the ones to regulate abortion access.
- A recording of the event is available in the video player above.
The court ruled against the 1973 opinion on Friday. The opinion protected the right to have an abortion without excessive government restrictions.
Nessel has previously pledged to defend the right to abortion. She said that Michigan’s 1931 law criminalizing abortion is unconstitutional and she will not defend a law that she feels is unconstitutional.
On Friday, Nessel said even though she knew this ruling was coming it still feels very “unnerving.”
Read more: Supreme Court overturns Roe v Wade: What that means for abortion access in Michigan
Michigan’s 1931 law did not immediately spring back into effect because it is under a preliminary injunction. Because of that, Nessel said that abortion laws in Michigan remain the same as it was yesterday. In Michigan’s 83 counties, abortion is currently legal.
Nessel said this has taught us that rulings by any court are temporary by nature and it is up to Michigan voters to ensure reproductive freedoms through elections.
Nessel mentioned the Reproductive Freedom For All ballot proposal. If it receives enough signatures it will appear on the November ballot and voters will have an opportunity to protect their freedoms to abortion, birth control and artificial reproductive means like IVF.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has filed a lawsuit asking the Michigan Supreme Court to recognize a constitutional right to an abortion. It also asks the court to stop enforcement of the 1931 Michigan abortion ban -- which is currently under the injunction. It is unknown when the Michigan Supreme Court will look at this issue.