Michigan voters approved abortion rights amendment. Here's what happens next.

Michigan voters adopted a constitutional amendment on the ballot this fall to enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution. While advocates called it a historic victory for abortion rights and celebrated the passage of Proposal 3, opponents warned an onslaught of legal challenges is imminent.

Proposal 3 — which unofficial results show received nearly 57% of the vote in the Nov. 8 election — will be inserted into the state constitution before Christmas Eve.

"It will become part of the Constitution 45 days after the election on December 23, 2022, rendering the 1931 criminal abortion ban unenforceable," said Nicole Wells Stallworth, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, during a news briefing Wednesday.

A Michigan judge has already temporarily suspended enforcement of the 1931 state law criminalizing most abortions in the 13 counties with abortion clinics. In theory, the Michigan Supreme Court could weigh in on legal challenges arguing that the Michigan Constitution already protects the right to an abortion. But by adding an explicit right to seek abortions in the Michigan Constitution, Proposal 3's passage essentially renders those cases moot.

Proposal 3 leaves open the door for state lawmakers to enact legislation to implement the constitutional amendment. For instance, Proposal 3 allows lawmakers to regulate abortions after fetal viability so long as abortions deemed medically necessary are not prohibited. It is unclear what role the organizations behind Proposal 3 — Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan and the nonprofit Michigan Voices — might play working with the incoming Democratic-controlled state Legislature to craft policy in concert with the establishment of the new right to reproductive freedom guaranteed by the amendment.

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It is also unclear what role those groups might play in future legal battles on the horizon over the amendment.

When asked about next steps in anticipation of court challenges, a spokesperson for Reproductive Freedom for All, which sponsored the amendment, declined to comment. "What's next is we're going to celebrate that we have restored reproductive rights in Michigan and enshrined it in our constitution," said spokesperson Darci McConnell during a news briefing Wednesday. She said there will be time to delve into those matters in the future, but the campaign was focused on celebrating its victory.

Meanwhile, Citizens for MI Children & Women, a coalition of abortion rights opponents that fought Proposal 3, vowed to hold the sponsors of the constitutional amendment accountable for claims they made that the law amendment simply restores what was lost when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade which had guaranteed a national right to abortion for nearly half a century.

Citizens for MI Children & Women, which claimed that Proposal 3 would repeal Michigan's parental consent law for minors seeking abortions, said in a statement in response to the amendment's passage that they look forward to seeing its sponsors defend the state law and others on the book related to abortion care.

"We will hold the sponsors of this proposal accountable for the claims they made, that no law beyond the 1931 law would be invalidated," said Citizens for MI Children & Women spokesperson Christen Pollo in a statement. "We expect the authors of this proposal to respond to the inevitable flood of litigation that will come with this amendment by insisting that laws like parental consent be upheld, as they promised the people of Michigan."

In heralding Proposal 3's passage as a victory for reproductive rights, sponsors of the amendment suggested they're ready to look beyond Michigan in the fight for abortion rights, calling Michigan a model for other states that could pass ballot measures to preserve abortion access.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include the unofficial results for Proposal 3 following a complete count of the ballots cast in the Nov. 8 election.

Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA. Contact her at [email protected] or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Proposal 3 in Michigan approved: What happens next