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Will abortion be legal in Michigan if Roe v. Wade is overturned?

Published  May 5, 2022 5:25pm EDT
Roe v. Wade
FOX 2 Detroit

Abortion battle coming in Michigan

After a leak that the Supreme Court plans to overturn Roe v. Wade, an abortion battle looms in Michigan, where an anti-abortion law is on the books.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - An abortion battle is brewing in Michigan.

Last month, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer filed a lawsuit challenging a 1931 law that would make abortion illegal in the state without Roe v. Wade. That came just weeks before a leaked Supreme Court ruling that would overturn Roe v. Wade.

"It’s a fundamental right. It’s an equality issue. It’s about opportunity to participate fully in society and for everyone to be treated as equal people in our society, in our community," said Jonathan Miller, the chief programming officer with the Public Rights Project. 

The group filed a brief this week in support of Whitmer and some Michigan prosecutors who want to get rid of the 1931 law.

More: Who could be prosecuted if Roe v. Wade is overturned

"The ask of the Michigan Supreme Court is to hold the line and to ensure that the guarantees of Roe are maintained in Michigan," he said. "We think that in Michigan there is a real good opportunity here to ensure that the right to abortion is maintained because this has been a right that has been a fundamental right understood under the constitution for 50 years."

However, while some want abortion to be legal in Michigan, others are pushing for it to not be allowed.

"Right to life advocates have a sense of bittersweetness. Even if the US Supreme Court would overturn Roe versus Wade, 63 million-plus innocent babies have had their lives taken before they were even born," said John Bursch, the vice president of Appellate Advocacy with Alliance Defending Freedom. "To say that the right to an abortion is fundamental, deeply rooted is just wrong."

RELATED: This is where abortion will likely be illegal if Roe v. Wade is overturned

ADF represents Michigan Right to Life and Michigan's Catholic Conference.

"What we should be doing as a society is wrapping our arms around those women and providing them with the resources they need so that they can support the life of their children rather than taking that money away from them," Bursch said.