AG Dana Nessel campaign commercial doesn't hold back on GOP opponents

FOX 2 - A new ad from Attorney General Dana Nessel's reelection campaign is taking aim at her Republican opponents - and raising eyebrows.

"Remember when you could be jailed for using contraception? Me neither," Nessel says in the ad. "If they win you might have to cross state lines just to legally have safe sex.

"I'm Dana Nessel. As attorney general, I'll keep politicians out of your bedroom."

So what's she talking about?

"We're talking about taking us back half a century or more, to a time when the government could control and dictate when you have kids - or whether or not you have kids - or if you have to have kids," she explained.

Nessel referencing a landmark right to privacy case the Supreme Court decided in 1965, overturning the state of Connecticut's ban on birth control - Griswold v. Connecticut established that states cannot ban contraception.

Last month, Republican candidates for attorney general, Tom Leonard, Matthew De Perno, and State Representative Ryan Berman were asked about the case and said it infringed on states' rights to make their own laws.

"To say that a married couple - and whether or not they can use birth control - should be the right of the state legislature to make that decision ... it's a very scary statement to be made by people who are seeking a very influential office," Nessel said.

But while the thought of the state legislature banning contraception may seem far-fetched, banning abortion is a different story. If the U.S. Supreme Court rules to overturn Roe v. Wade, there's a Michigan law already on the books from 1931 that does just that.

"It makes abortion a four-year felony in this state. So it means that if your doctor were to perform an abortion on you, your doctor could go to jail or prison," Nessel said.

Republican state attorney general candidates for attorney general, Tom Leonard, Matthew De Perno, and State Representative Ryan Berman.

It's a law the governor has called on the Republican-controlled state legislature to overturn - that hasn't happened. Nessel says she won't enforce it but what about her Republican opponents?

"It's a very serious set of circumstances, and it will change everything about what we know to be reproductive rights that people have enjoyed for decades and decades," Nessel said.

Republican candidate State Rep Berman was the only one to respond to our request for comment saying, "I never said that the Griswold decision should be overturned. I’m also not opposed to contraception, nor to individual privacy rights. Dana's misrepresentation here reeks of desperation."

As for whether or not he would enforce Michigan's abortion law if elected attorney general should Roe be overturned, Berman said, "It would be irresponsible to commit to a position on enforcing the law before the interpretation is released."

Republicans will nominate their candidate for attorney general at their convention next month.