According to The Washington Stand, an unprecedented amount of money has flowed into Michigan's Proposal 3, even as Democrats appear to be moving away from abortion as their main messaging point. Politico reported last week that around $57 million had been spent in support of the measure ahead of tomorrow's midterm elections
Christen Pollo of Citizens to Support Michigan Women and Children explains that Proposal 3, or Reproductive Freedom for All, is a constitutional amendment that would enshrine in the Michigan Constitution a right for abortion up to birth.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Planned Parenthood have long sought to end parental consent requirements for teenage abortions, now by slipping it into the state constitution through Proposal 3 while telling voters the measure will not touch parental consent. They have raised tens of millions to promote the proposal, and 2/3rds of that funding has come from New York City and Los Angeles, not Michigan residents.
"$17 million came from just five donors," Pollo reports, noting that billionaire George Soros is among them. "So what we see from this is that Proposal 3 is not a Michigan effort; this is New York and California pushing an extreme agenda on the people of our state to become a blueprint that they intend to take across the country."
And if they have their way, Pollo says there will be no going back.
"This is a constitutional amendment that repeals Michigan's parental consent laws," she states. "It repeals the health and safety regulations on abortion clinics. I think we can all agree that women should at least be safe if they're entering an abortion facility, and yet all of the safety regulations in place would be repealed under Proposal 3."
Specifically, Proposal 3's language promises to "invalidate state laws conflicting with" the amendment, which gives "every individual" a right to an abortion, regardless of age. No law can infringe on that right if it interferes with that individual's "autonomous decision-making."
By the proposal’s plain language, Pollo's organization reasons that Michigan's parental consent requirement would no longer stand. And with the absence of parental consent, any underage child could go to a facility to have an abortion or transgender treatment and mutilation surgery without the parents' knowledge.
Citizens to Support Michigan Women and Children asserts that it is in the best interest of all Michigan residents to vote no on the "confusing, extreme, [and] permanent" Proposal 3.
