MI Rep. Kara Hope: GOP Governor Candidates Pose Risk to Abortion Rights

Opinion

By state Rep. Kara Hope

This week marks four years since the United States Supreme Court, with three justices appointed by Donald Trump, overturned Roe v. Wade, ripping away the constitutional right to essential reproductive healthcare from millions of women here in Michigan and across the country.

In the aftermath of the Dobbs decision, advocates, legislators, and Michiganders of all walks worked tirelessly to protect reproductive freedom. We repealed the draconian 1931 abortion ban, and in November 2022, more than 2.4 million Michiganders voted to enshrine the right to reproductive freedom in the state Constitution. 

Some might think that ended the fight for reproductive freedom here in Michigan. It did not. The work to protect and defend reproductive freedom isn’t over—and with some abortion clinics here in Michigan and across the country teetering on the brink of closure, it’s never been more important.

At this critical moment, we cannot risk the progress that we’ve collectively made. Just look at the records of the three Republican candidates for governor—John James, Perry Johnson, and Mike Cox—each of whom was recently endorsed by Right to Life of Michigan, which recently lost a federal lawsuit seeking to strike down Michigan’s fundamental constitutional right to reproductive freedom.

John James has taken one of the most extreme stances among the candidates, fervently opposing Roe v. Wade and comparing abortion to “genocide.”

When he ran for the U.S. Senate in 2018, James opposed abortion access for victims of sexual assault and rape survivors. Meanwhile, Perry Johnson has declined to rule out banning abortion for sexual assault and rape survivors and said that “two wrongs don’t make a right. I am pro-life.”

James has touted being “100% pro-life” and his A+ rating in Congress from the anti-choice group SBA Pro-Life America, while Mike Cox defended stringent abortion restrictions when he was Michigan attorney general. 

Make no mistake: each of these candidates is still hell-bent on banning reproductive freedom and are too extreme for Michigan. We cannot take reproductive freedom or healthcare for granted.  Keep these guys away from the Governor’s Office. It’s up to us to ensure that whichever Republican is on the November ballot soundly loses.

Not only have these three candidates squarely stood against reproductive healthcare, but they have also supported cuts to Medicaid, forced healthcare premiums to rise, and even left the door open to ending Medicaid expansion entirely in Michigan. Not only do they want to strip Michiganders of their reproductive healthcare: they want to put up more obstacles between you and your healthcare. 

If elected, any one of them will work to roll back our rights, strip funding  from groups like Planned Parenthood, and even work to overturn or undermine Proposal 3. It’s a risk that we can’t take, and the stakes couldn’t be higher: the health and well-being of Michiganders is on the line.

This November, no matter which Republican candidate for governor ends up being on the ballot, it’s crucial we reject their extreme, anti-choice agenda. 

State Rep. Kara Hope is serving her fourth term, now representing Michigan’s 74th House District, which includes all of south Lansing and Delhi Township. Rep. Hope is a lifelong resident of mid-Michigan.