LANSING, Mich. (AP) 鈥� Ten years ago, as Michigan鈥檚 Republican-led Legislature was on the verge of passing one of the nation鈥檚 most restrictive anti-abortion laws at the time, a 42-year-old state senator from East Lansing took to the Senate floor to speak out against what she knew was about to happen.
Minutes into her speech, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer tossed aside her prepared remarks and revealed for the first time publicly that she had been raped while attending college. Had she become pregnant, Whitmer said, she would not have been able to afford an abortion under the proposed law.
The bill, which Whitmer had derisively called 鈥渞ape insurance鈥� because it required women to declare when buying health insurance whether they expected to receive an abortion, passed anyway. But Whitmer, now in as Michigan's governor after winning reelection by nearly 11 percentage points in 2022, this week removed the requirement from state law with the stroke of a pen after Michigan's Democratic-controlled Legislature sent her a bill tossing it aside.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of a stunning full-circle moment where it does reinforce that these fights are worth having and they鈥檙e winnable, even if sometimes it takes a little longer than it should," Whitmer said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press.
Whitmer recalled the hundreds of calls and emails she received after her 2013 speech as a turning point for her, the moment when she realized how much people care about protecting a woman鈥檚 right to choose whether she should have an abortion. It's a lesson she hopes to drive home all over the country as one of the nation's leading abortion rights advocates during what could prove to election year in 2024.
鈥淭he voters speak loud and clear," she said. 鈥淎nd so I do think that in this moment, in this country, this is an important, crucial issue for a lot of people.鈥�
Abortion rights moved to the political forefront after the U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that had long preserved them as a constitutional right. The court gave states the power to decide for themselves whether abortion should be legal.
Conservative states across the country moved quickly to enact abortion bans in various forms, leading to a wave of legal fights in places such as Texas, where a whose fetus has a fatal condition was forced to leave the state this week to obtain an abortion. Some Republicans, including several contenders for the GOP presidential nomination, have also called for a .
The political fallout at the ballot box has mostly gone in . Democrats did better than expected in last year鈥檚 midterms, limiting their House losses and maintaining a narrow Senate majority, and defending abortion rights worked in Democrats鈥� favor in several states again this year. When constitutional questions about abortion rights appeared on the ballot, even voters in Republican-leaning states rejected GOP-backed efforts to curb them.
Whitmer says Democrats have by running unapologetically on the issue. Her party controls all levels of state government for the first time in 40 years after flipping both chambers of the Legislature last November.
That success was fueled by a to enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution in the wake of the Supreme Court decision. and other Michigan Democrats emphasized their support for the initiative in their 2022 election campaigns.
President Joe Biden's reelection campaign views the defense of abortion rights as a winning issue for Democrats in 2024. They are quick to make note of boasts by former President Donald Trump that his appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices instigated the court's reversal.
Biden himself is less outspoken on the issue than other members of his party, and occasionally seems personally conflicted.
鈥淚 happen to be a practicing Catholic. I鈥檓 not big on abortion,鈥� he said during a June fundraiser. 鈥淏ut guess what? Roe v. Wade got it right.鈥�
Biden's hesitancy comes as his reelection campaign faces vulnerabilities. Michigan was a critical component of the of states, including Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, that Biden returned to the Democratic column, helping him win the White House in 2020.
The president鈥檚 support in the state has wavered since the 2020 election, however, and a CNN poll released Monday showed that only 35% of respondents approved of the job he鈥檚 been doing.
Michigan is also home to one of the largest Arab-American and Muslim communities in the nation, and many of their vocal about saying that his pro-Israel stance on the war that began with an attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 could to win in Michigan again.
Whitmer, who is co-chair of Biden's reelection campaign and frequently mentioned as a future presidential candidate, deflected questions Monday about his chances in Michigan, insisting that she was only going to 鈥渇ocus on reproductive rights today.鈥�
Whitmer also said she understands that talking about abortion is "not comfortable for everyone." But she said the chances of Republicans pushing for a federal ban on abortion should be taken seriously.
For her, that's reason enough to talk about abortion rights early, often and unequivocally.
鈥淭he prospect of a national abortion ban is real,鈥� she said. Using other words to talk about reproductive rights or being overly cautious about the issue, she said, 鈥渄ilutes the importance of the moment.鈥�
In June, Whitmer launched a 鈥淔ight Like Hell鈥� federal PAC to raise money for Democratic candidates who are 鈥渦napologetic in their fight for working people and their basic freedoms鈥� heading into the 2024 election. The PAC will support candidates for Congress and other offices but also will provide financial support for Biden鈥檚 reelection bid.
A group of eight U.S. House Democrats seeking reelection in competitive districts were announced on Tuesday as the PAC's first endorsements.
Since winning full legislative control, Michigan Democrats have struck down the state鈥檚 1931 abortion ban, from firing or retaliating against workers for receiving an abortion and .
For Whitmer, those successes help justify her decision a decade ago to discuss abortion in such personal terms.
鈥淚 think about my daughters who I was so worried to hear that their mom had been raped when they were 10 and 11 years old,鈥� Whitmer said. 鈥淎nd now they鈥檙e 20 and 21, and I know they鈥檙e proud to see that I鈥檝e stayed in this fight, and I鈥檓 trying to make life better for other women.鈥�
Joey Cappelletti, The Associated Press
