Abortion proponents in Michigan have been hard at work in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s monumental June 24 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. One group, Reproductive Freedom for All, partnered with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan and the state’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union to ramp up their circulation of ballot petitions for a statewide referendum that would enshrine the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution. By July 11, they had gained over 753,000 signatures, close to double the 425,000 needed to put the issue on the ballot this November.

Pro-life groups have been dealt a difficult hand in the state. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has also filed a lawsuit asking the Michigan supreme court to overturn a 1931 abortion ban; meanwhile a lower court has issued an injunction against the law’s enforcement as it adjudicates a similar lawsuit from Planned Parenthood…

In other words, the text as written provides a loophole for abortion on demand to continue up to the moment of birth. “What we know from decades under Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton,” Pollo told NR, “is that those words — ‘physical and mental health’ — have allowed abortion through all nine months of pregnancy for many years.” Providers can use that type of vague language to justify performing late-term abortions to alleviate even mild discomfort such as stomach aches and anxiety about labor, she said.

Although Americans generally have little stomach for complete bans such as the 1931 law, they are generally supportive of restrictions on abortion.