Interactive map: How Michigan counties voted to protect abortion rights
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - On Tuesday, Nov. 8, Michigan voters approved a ballot measure to enshrine abortion into the state constitution.
Proposal 3, known as Reproductive Freedom for All proposal, was approved by voters in the election on Tuesday, Nov. 8. The amendment to the state's constitution will overrule the prevailing 1931 law in Michigan that outlawed abortion without exception for rape or incest. Under that ban, providing non-life-saving abortions would have been prosecuted as manslaughter.
Interactive map: Michigan Election results for Nov. 8, 2022
The race was called around 3:25 a.m. by the Associated Press with the measure passing.
But how, exactly, did each Michigan county vote? In the Democratic strongholds of Oakland and Wayne County, it passed by a fairly wide majority. It also passed in Macomb and Genesee County by smaller margins.
Find more election results here.
Below, you can see exactly how every county voted on the historic ballot measure that puts an end to the battle over the issue, which was brought on in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
Click the tab ‘county leader’ to view results by each county. Then hover or tap the county to see results.
The proposal was put on the ballot after supporters gathered over 600,000 valid signatures.
The polarizing battle over Michigan’s abortion rights intensified after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade in June. The issue of abortion has also been involved in a lawsuit from Governor Gretchen Whitmer and a court battle to keep abortions legal.
What changes with the approval of Proposal 3?
Not much will change today. Proposal 3 maintains that patients have the right to decide on prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, infertility, and other decisions to the patient.
In doing so, it legalizes abortion and invalidates the previous laws that conflict with it. Meaning the 1931 law that banned abortion will be wiped from the state law.
Proposal 3 is the Michigan Abortion Amendment. A "yes" vote means that abortion stays legal in the state.
What do supporters of Proposal 3 say?
Supporters of the proposal argued that residents need to continue to have the rights that have been in place for the state for the past 50 years.
Planned Parenthood, Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, and some religious leaders are backing it, including Rev. Dr. Roland Stringfellow, the senior pastor at the Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit.
"We believe in reproductive justice, to allow individuals the right to choose," said Rev. Dr. Stringfellow. "Women should have the right to make those decisions for themselves."
Related: Doctor concerned over language in Michigan abortion amendment
Groups like the Michigan section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Committee to Protect Health Care, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and others are concerned about what they've already seen happening in the neighboring states of Ohio, Wisconsin, and Indiana, where abortion has been severely restricted or banned.
Dr. Timothy Johnson has been treating pregnant women facing challenges and said the overturning of Roe v. Wade hurts the patients.
"We've seen women delayed care for miscarriage, delayed care for ectopic pregnancy, delayed care for high-risk pregnancies," Johnson said. "Lots of questions, lots of ambiguity, and I don't think we need that in Michigan."