Press Release California
Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Endorses Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer for Reelection
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Contact: [email protected]
Governor Whitmer earns endorsement of nation’s leading reproductive freedom advocacy group
Washington, DC — Today, NARAL Pro-Choice America announced its endorsement of Governor Gretchen Whitmer in her bid for reelection. Governor Whitmer was first elected in 2018.
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju said:
“Throughout her career—from the Michigan House and Senate to the governor’s office—Governor Gretchen Whitmer has fiercely advocated for reproductive freedom, fighting against anti-choice restrictions and expanding abortion access in the state. With the Supreme Court’s anti-choice supermajority poised to potentially end Roe v. Wade in the coming weeks, it has never been more critical that we keep Governor Whitmer in office to fight for the values of the overwhelming majority of Michiganders who believe everybody should have the freedom to decide if, when, and how to start or grow our families. NARAL Pro-Choice America is proud to endorse Governor Whitmer for reelection and will be activating our 85,000 members to get out the vote for her.”
Governor Gretchen Whitmer said:
“With the right to choose under attack, Michigan could revert overnight to one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country. That’s why I brought a lawsuit directly to the Michigan Supreme Court to ask them to affirm the right to abortion and ensure the draconian ban never goes back into effect. I am fighting like hell to protect this fundamental right for Michiganders and ensure that my daughters have the same rights I did, and I am thankful for NARAL’s partnership in this fight.”
Governor Whitmer has been a bold champion in the fight for reproductive freedom. Gov. Whitmer joined 16 other governors in calling on Congress to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) to safeguard the legal right to abortion throughout the United States under federal law. Gov. Whitmer also filed a lawsuit and used her executive authority to ask the Michigan Supreme Court to immediately resolve whether Michigan’s Constitution protects the right to abortion. Gov. Whitmer prioritized abortion care in the state amidst the pandemic, defunding anti-choice fake health centers that intentionally lie to people about abortion and denouncing Texas’ vigilante-enforced ban on abortion (TX SB 8). Before her tenure as governor, Whitmer consistently voted against legislation that restricted access to abortion as a Michigan state representative and state senator.
This endorsement comes as NARAL Pro-Choice America is ramping up its work to elect candidates up and down the ballot during a critical moment in the fight for reproductive freedom. In the coming days, the U.S. Supreme Court will issue its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization—a case about Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban that directly challenges Roe v. Wade. A recent leak of the Court’s draft majority opinion confirmed that the Court is poised to overturn Roe and end the constitutional right to abortion as we know it. If the landmark abortion rights decision is undone, roughly half of the states in the country—including Michigan—are expected to take action to prohibit abortion outright. If Roe is overturned and states move swiftly to ban abortion, Michiganders are predicted to see a 2,343% increase in driving distance when seeking abortion care.
NARAL, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and EMILY’s List recently announced a partnership to collectively spend a historic $150 million on the 2022 midterms to elect reproductive freedom champions across the country.
Read more about NARAL’s endorsed candidates here.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for every body. NARAL is powered by its more than 2.5 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.