Whitmer Will Not Extradite Women Who Come To MI For Abortions, Executive Order Says

MICHIGAN — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order Wednesday refusing to cooperate with out-of-state law enforcement seeking to punish women who come to Michigan for an abortion.

The order also protects providers of legal abortion in Michigan, "who will not have to fear being extradited for prosecution in another state for offering reproductive health care."

"I cannot in good conscience participate in other states’ efforts to make it a crime to exercise a fundamental right or to punish health-care providers," Whitmer said. "A woman’s health, not politics, should guide life-changing medical decisions."

When U.S. Supreme Court Justices overturned the landmark Roe v Wade case, numerous trigger laws went into effect across multiple states in the nation, effectively banning abortion in nearly every circumstance. Under some laws, women and doctors could even face jail time.

There are also laws that seek to punish women who decide to cross state lines to get an abortion. In Michigan, a proposal exists to punish health care providers for up to ten years if they help a woman get an abortion.

The executive order comes after a WDIV/Detroit News poll showed Michiganders strongly approve of Whitmer's job performance. It also showed she has strong leads over five Republican gubernatorial candidates.

Abortion remains legal in Michigan, but only because a state judge temporarily blocked a 1931 state law banning abortion from going into effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade.

However, that ruling can be overturned at any moment, especially since several groups, including state Republicans, have challenged that law, arguing state lawmakers should be allowed to revisit the law.

Whitmer also filed a lawsuit, asking the state's supreme court to recognize a woman's right to an abortion in Michigan's Constitution. The court decided to take up Whitmer's lawsuit and could issue a ruling at any moment, something Whitmer has urged the court to do quickly.

"Whatever the U.S. Supreme Court says about the U.S. Constitution, the Michigan Constitution contains a right to privacy and bodily autonomy that makes the 1931 law invalid," Whitmer said in the executive order. "In addition, Michigan’s Equal Protection Clause forbids discriminatory laws like the criminal abortion statute, which is premised on outdated sex-based classifications and overbroad generalizations about the role of women in the workforce and in families."