The organization known as Reproductive Freedom for All has been collecting signatures for months to get the issue on the ballot in Michigan. After getting a Michigan Supreme Court ruling in its favor last week, the organization will be allowed to have its "Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative" (Proposal 3) on the November ballot.
Christen Pollo works for Citizens to Support Michigan Women and Children, a coalition of pro-life organizations encouraging people to vote no on Proposal 3. Pollo calls it "an extreme amendment" and predicts it will be defeated as voters learn about its dangerous consequences.
"This is an 'anything goes' abortion amendment that would repeal all restrictions and regulations on abortion," she explains. "It repeals parental consent laws; and it even repeals the laws that prevent non-doctors from performing abortions."
Pollo emphasizes that Proposal 3 is a constitutional amendment. "Which means if passed, we are stuck with the consequences written in stone in our state constitution," she adds.
One factor driving support for the amendment is the U.S. Supreme Court's recent reversal of Roe v. Wade. But just as pro-abortion individuals and groups have been trying to get out the vote, so have pro-life individuals and organizations, says Pollo.
"This abortion amendment will, if passed, repeal all restrictions and regulations on abortion permanently," says the pro-lifer, "and if people do not want unrestricted, unregulated abortion, they need to vote no on Proposal 3 in November."
Now that it's official the proposal will be on the ballot, Pollo says voters can expect to hear a lot from her organization on television, in digital ads, and through canvassing efforts. "We will reach every voter in the state with the truth about how extreme this proposed amendment is," she vows.
In order for the issue to be settled by voters, abortion proponents needed to gather and submit 425,000 signatures; they ended up collecting about 750,000.
To read an analysis of Proposal 3 by a coalition of pro-life groups, read here.
