1990 Ann Arbor charter amendment makes it Reproductive Rights Safety Zone within city limits

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (FOX 2) - If the US Supreme Court decides to overturn Roe vs Wade, Ann Arbor says their city has a plan in place. The city charter was amended 30 years ago to designate the city limits as a Reproductive Rights Safety Zone.

"This is the kind of statement that we make in Ann Arbor because this is our values," said Elizabeth Nelson.

Nelson has served as an Ann Arbor City Council member since 2018. It was after hearing about the Supreme Court opinion leak to overturn federal abortion rights did she discover that the city charter already addresses the issue on a local level.

"Ann Arbor has basically made a statement that regardless of what is happening nationally, these are freedoms that we value. and value enough to enshrine in our document," Nelson said.

The city put it to a vote back in 1990, making it official in the city charter that Ann Arbor is a zone of reproduction freedom.  Anyone who is found in violation is subject to a fine of $5.  

"I understand why former colleagues from years past thought it was a good idea - they were certainly seeing into the future, I guess," she said.

That's nothing new in Ann Arbor. A similar measure of a token $5 fine was done before recreational marijuana became legal.

"It’s similar to what we did with marijuana but of course, with this issue, the stakes are that much higher," Nelson said.

The city has a pattern of putting proactive language on the books. For example last year Ann Arbor enacted an ordinance banning gender conversion therapy for minors - a measure Nelson co-sponsored.

"It’s not happening in Ann Arbor, but in 1990 not too many people were worried about Roe v Wade being overturned," Nelson said.

Pro-life supporters say despite what may be written in a city charter, if the Roe v Wade decision is overturned, the state will revert to the law that was on the books since the 1800s.  

"We have used this law in several cases throughout Michigan," said Ann Visser, Right to Life Michigan. "Not necessarily to prosecute a doctor who is committing abortion, but for other cases. I think the latest case that happened was 2019, we've used this law.

"And so, we don’t necessarily think that it’s outdated, we think it serves it's purpose and it has a place in Michigan, for sure."

What is concerning to Right to Life supporters are county prosecutors, like in Washtenaw, Oakland, Wayne, and four others in the state who say they don't intend on going after doctors performing abortions even if Roe v Wade is overturned.