Although voters made clear in 2022 that abortion is a constitutionally protected right in Michigan, there are still many laws restricting access in order to make it as hard as possible for anyone needing an abortion. Abortion must be more than just legal, it must be accessible, too.
In Michigan, that means passing the Reproductive Health Act (RHA).
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE RHA AND STAY UP TO DATE ON REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE ISSUES IN MICHIGAN
WHAT IS THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ACT?
The RHA ensures access to safe, legal abortion in Michigan. It guarantees that people are free to make their own medical decisions without politicians interfering and it repeals dozens of Michigan’s outdated and unnecessary abortion restrictions. These restrictions hit low income and BIPOC people especially hard.
WHAT DOES THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ACT DO?
The RHA protects all individual decision-making in the area of reproductive health. This includes decisions about reproductive health care, like deciding to use or refuse contraception (birth control) or sterilization, deciding what type of birth control to use, if any, and deciding to give birth or have an abortion if pregnant.
THE RHA WILL:
Lift the ban on private insurance coverage for abortion care.
-
Remove unnecessary barriers to accessing abortion via telemedicine.
-
Remove medically inappropriate and unnecessary regulations requiring facilities that provide abortions to be freestanding surgical outpatient facilities.
-
Increase privacy and safety for minors seeking an abortion by removing the parental consent requirement.
-
Repeal laws that require patients seeking abortion care to receive biased, medically inaccurate information.
-
Remove barriers to state and federal funding for health care entities that also provide abortion care.
-
Repeal the law requiring patients seeking abortion to undergo a state-mandated 24-hour delay.
-
Codify current standards of medical practice regarding who can perform abortions.
-
Prohibit criminal punishment of pregnant people for actions they take during pregnancy that would not otherwise be made criminal or punishable.
WHY IS THE RHA IMPORTANT?
Michigan voters made it clear in 2022 that abortion is legally protected in our state. In 2023, Michigan’s extreme 1931 abortion law was repealed. But legality doesn’t equal access for so many. Abortion opponents have spent decades passing laws in Michigan to make access to an abortion difficult and even impossible in some cases. These laws are still on the books.