"I will not prosecute": Attorney General Dana Nessel responds to Roe v. Wade decision
PLYMOUTH, Mich. — The Roe v. Wade decision that has been in place for nearly 50 years was overturned by the United States Supreme Court Friday.
The ban is expected to lead abortion bans in roughly half the states, leaving it up to each state to decide.
Attorney General Dana Nessel released a statement regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case.
Nessel said as long as she is in office she will not prosecute or "enforce an unconstitutional law that will allow the state into our bedrooms and doctor’s appointments, interfering with our fundamental reproductive rights."
"I will not prosecute women, girls, or their doctors for seeking or providing abortion services. Nor will my staff seek licensure discipline against medical professionals who safely perform these procedures.”
Republican Matt DePerno, Nessel's opponent for attorney general, has said he's against abortion even in cases for rape, incest, or for a medical emergency, according to Nessel.
“My opponent even claims there is no such thing as a life saving medical procedure that would require terminating a pregnancy. An idea that doctors, nurses, and anyone who has experienced an ectopic pregnancy knows is unequivocally false and if DePerno wins the November election, he will have the authority to charge people in every county across Michigan,” Nessel said.
Nessel said the overturning of Roe v. Wade will have additional negative consequences.
"I’ve been putting domestic violence advocates on high alert: expect to see an increase in partner assault cases, including homicides, because of Roe being overturned. If women can’t exercise their right to terminate a pregnancy, that will leave them anchored to their abusers for the rest of their lives. Being forced to carry a fetus would cause catastrophic harm to women already in a precarious situation," said Nessel.
To maintain reproductive rights, Nessel said she urges voters to make their voices heard at the ballot box in November.
"This opinion is an unraveling of our country as we know it. The overturning of Roe is not just the loss of a right, it is the erosion of the inalienable rights that all Americans are supposed to be entitled to. It claws back the hard won agency women have over their bodies and lives, and it eliminates settled law relied upon by generations of Americans. It's time to vote like your life depends on it, because it does.”
