If Roe v. Wade were to be overturned, a 1931 Michigan law would go into place, leaving no exceptions for abortion in cases of rape, incest or medical emergencies, and which could throw women and doctors into prison.
Speaking on Mother’s Day, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said she refuses “to enforce this draconian law that will endanger their lives and put to jeopardy the health, safety and welfare of the lives of each and every woman in the state of Michigan."
Nessel said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that she’s hopeful the Michigan Supreme Court will find that the right to an abortion is fundamental under the state’s constitution, even if the U.S. Supreme Court rules differently.
“Politicians do not belong in our doctor's offices, they don't belong in our bedrooms and should not be making these kinds of decisions on behalf of the American public and behalf of women across America,” Nessel said Sunday.
A leaked draft opinion showed that the U.S. Supreme Court had voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that negated Michigan's abortion law and others around the nation. Many states never bothered to overturn their old laws, seeing no reason to, since they were no longer applicable.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday the Supreme Court has “slapped women in the face.”
“This is about something so serious and so personal and so disrespectful of women,” Pelosi said on CBS' “Face the Nation.” “It is the law of the land for nearly 50 years. The precedence of it has been reaffirmed, what, 14, times?”
In a joint statement last week, Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote: “The Republican-appointed Justices’ reported votes to overturn Roe v. Wade would go down as an abomination, one of the worst and most damaging decisions in modern history.”