Draft opinion jolts Michigan, where abortion ban is on books

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A draft opinion that suggests the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision reverberated in political battleground Michigan, where a near-total abortion ban may take effect again after nearly 40 years and is unlikely to be changed by the Republican-led Legislature.

Attention quickly turned to the courts, where Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Planned Parenthood — anticipating the ruling — filed lawsuits less than a month ago seeking to invalidate the 1931 law that remains on the books. The development also put a focus on the November election, when the governor and legislators are up for reelection and voters may decide whether to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.

“To the nearly 2.2 million women in Michigan whose access to abortion hangs in the balance, I promise you this: I will fight like hell to make sure abortion remains safe, legal, and accessible in our state," Whitmer tweeted late Monday.

Michigan's pre-Roe law, which dates to an 1846 law, makes it a felony to use an instrument or administer any substance with the intent to abort a fetus unless necessary to preserve the woman's life. There are no exceptions in cases of rape and incest, and Whitmer has said Michigan would have “one of the most extreme laws in the country.”

Republican legislators have blocked Democrats' efforts to repeal the law. The state's Democratic attorney general, Dana Nessel, and Democratic prosecutors in seven counties with abortion clinics in turn have pledged to not enforce it. The six other counties with clinics have Republican prosecutors.

All 10 Republican candidates vying to challenge Whitmer are anti-abortion. Many oppose it except to protect the woman's life, aligning with Right to Life of...