Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Celebrates as Michigan State Legislature Flips from Red to Blue
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, November 9, 2022
Contact: [email protected]
Defeat of anti-choice, anti-freedom Republican majority is a win for Michiganders and reproductive freedom
Lansing, Michigan — Today, Michigan voters flipped the state legislature from red to blue, marking a huge win for reproductive freedom in Michigan. Anti-choice legislators in the Michigan legislature have been intent on restricting reproductive freedom and limiting access to abortion.
In response to this victory, NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju released the following statement:
“To call what happened in Michigan historic doesn’t begin to describe how radically the future for Michiganders shifted in just this one election: they will finally have a state legislature committed to upholding our fundamental freedoms, including the right to abortion—and with Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel in office, we have a real opportunity to protect and expand abortion access. We are proud to have endorsed reproductive freedom champions and leaders in critical races that helped make tonight’s victory a reality, and we are counting down the days until they join the ranks of Michigan’s legislature in January.”
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization—ending the constitutional right to abortion and opening the door for extremist state lawmakers to put total bans on abortion in place. This decision is already having a devastating impact throughout the country as 15 states are enforcing extreme or total bans on abortion. The people hurt most by these bans and restrictions are those who already face barriers to accessing abortion care—including women; Black, Latina/x, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Indigenous people; those working to make ends meet; the LGBTQ+ community; immigrants; young people; those living in rural communities; people with disabilities, and other historically oppressed communities.
Currently, Michigan has placed on hold a 1931 pre-Roe ban on abortion that undermines reproductive freedom at every turn. Anti-choice extremism underscores how important it is to have reproductive freedom champions in the state’s legislature and securing the right to abortion through the “Reproductive Freedom for All” ballot initiative. As a growing number of other states began enforcing abortion bans after the fall of Roe and anti-choice Republicans in Congress made clear that they intend to push for a national ban on abortion, Michigan voters tonight made clear that their fundamental right to decide is not up for debate.
Knowing that securing a state legislature will protect reproductive, NARAL endorsed a slate of state legislative candidates in Michigan as part of its largest-ever midterm electoral program to elect candidates up and down the ballot during this critical moment in the fight for reproductive freedom. The program focuses on deep-field investments in phone banking, door knocking, youth organizing, and canvassing, along with a robust communications campaign to support endorsed candidates and ballot initiatives in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, California, Arizona, and Nevada. Read more about NARAL’s endorsed candidates here.
NARAL’s work in Michigan included:
- Knocking on over 100,000 doors, making over 211,000 calls, and sending over 135,000 texts;
- Rolling out a pilot program with 14 organizers working on seven four-year college campuses and over 20 community college campuses to enroll voters and activate over 721 volunteers, and;
- Investing $2.1 million to elect reproductive freedom champions up and down the ballot and support Prop 3, and;
- Deploying NARAL Pro-Choice America president Mini Timmaraju to fight side-by-side with champions and get out the vote in key races.
Key components of our midterm campaign include:
- Harnessing the full power of our 4 million members to mobilize their communities through traditional organizing tactics. In total, we knocked on over 330,000 doors, made nearly 707,000 calls, sent over 868,000 texts, and filled over 4,860 volunteer shifts.
- Continuing to broaden the impact of our cutting-edge research into voter sentiment on abortion, including our pioneering freedom-centered messaging, by training candidates, volunteers, and activists to speak to their communities in ways we know align with their values and move them to act on their beliefs.
- Rolling out a pilot program in Michigan with 14 organizers working on seven four-year college campuses and over 20 community college campuses to enroll voters and activate over 721 volunteers.
- Endorsing candidates in over 200 races nationwide for federal and state offices.
- NARAL, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and EMILY’s List announced a partnership in May to collectively spend a historic $150 million on the 2022 midterms to elect reproductive freedom champions up and down the ballot across the country.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for every body. NARAL is powered by its 4 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.