The Supreme Court ruling this summer overturning Roe v. Wade left a woman’s Right to Autonomy to state jurisdiction and instantly relegated all women to second-class citizen status. For the first time in our history, a right granted by the court has been rescinded and women’s constitutionally endowed right of freedom and privacy, as guaranteed in our Constitution, will depend on where you live.

The majority-male Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision ruled government, not women, will arbitrate women’s reproductive options. This Supreme Court ruling evidenced the stark divide that exists between the conservative majority Supreme Court Justices and the majority of the populace they were appointed to represent…and protect. Opinion polls consistently evidence the majority of Americans support a woman’s right to navigate her own reproductive health care options. A recent survey in Northeast Michigan revealed 70% of respondents support reproductive freedom, which mirrors state and national polling results. Make no mistake, a Supreme Court willing to disregard the civil rights of women puts at risk future attacks on an array of civil rights.

In Michigan, however, on Nov. 8th, voters will determine whether to protect women’s reproductive rights through a ballot initiative, Proposal 3. A “yes” vote on Proposal 3 will write “reproduce freedom” rights into the Michigan Constitution and prevent a 1931 law from going into effect that would criminalize most abortions. In referencing this archaic 1931 law a Michigan judge said, “A law denying safe, routine medical care not only denies women the ability to control their bodies and their lives, it denies them of their dignity.”

It’s become clear, basic rights are under attack due to the composition of the Supreme Court itself, and this is a reminder that freedoms are never guaranteed, are hard-won… and easily lost.

ALPENA COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY