Voters will decide the future of abortion rights in Michigan during the General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.
If Proposal 22-3 is approved by voters, it would establish a right to reproductive freedom in Michigan.
Recommended Videos
That includes the right to make decisions about pregnancy, such as prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion, miscarriage management and infertility.
The state would still be allowed to prohibit abortion after “fetal viability,” unless abortion care is needed to save the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual.
The state would not be allowed to penalize, prosecute or take adverse action against someone based on their actual, potential, perceived or alleged pregnancy outcomes. That means a person cannot be prosecuted for a miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion.
It would also prohibit the state from taking action against someone for aiding or assisting a pregnant individual in exercising their right to reproductive freedom with their voluntary consent.
Proposal 3 is supported by the ACLU of Michigan, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan and Michigan Voices. Opposition groups include Right to Life Michigan, and the Michigan Catholic Conference.
Read the full text of the proposal below
Article 1, Section 28 Right to Reproductive Freedom
(1) 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.
An individual’s right to reproductive freedom shall not be denied, burdened, nor infringed upon unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means.
Notwithstanding the above, the state may regulate the provision of abortion care after fetal viability, provided that in no circumstance shall the state prohibit an abortion that, in the professional judgment of an attending health care professional, is medically indicated to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual.
(2) The state shall not discriminate in the protection or enforcement of this fundamental right.
(3) The state shall not penalize, prosecute, or otherwise take adverse action against an individual based on their actual, potential, perceived, or alleged pregnancy outcomes, including but not limited to miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. Nor shall the state penalize, prosecute, or otherwise take adverse action against someone for aiding or assisting a pregnant individual in exercising their right to reproductive freedom with their voluntary consent.
(4) For the purposes of this section:
A state interest is “compelling” only if it is for the limited purpose of protecting the health of an individual seeking care, consistent with accepted clinical standards of practice and evidence-based medicine, and does not infringe on that individual’s autonomous decision-making. “fetal viability” means: the point in pregnancy when, in the professional judgment of an attending health care professional and based on the particular facts of the case, there is a significant likelihood of the fetus’s sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures.
(5) This section shall be self-executing. Any provision of this section held invalid shall be severable from the remaining portions of this section.
(Click here to read more about Article I)