An Open Letter to Michigan Legislators

Dear Speaker Bolger and Senator Richardville,

We strongly urge you to allow Michigan voters to decide whether they support the initiative that would force women to purchase a separate insurance rider for abortion coverage. Do not take this measure up for a legislative vote. Decisions about whether and when to have children belong to women and their families, not to political leaders.

Taking away insurance coverage for abortion care would roll back the clock, returning Michigan to a world where being a woman is considered a “pre-existing condition,” complete with higher costs and elevated stigma.

This initiative demonstrates clear government overreach–not just into the personal decision making process of women and their families, but also into the private marketplace. This initiative would regulate insurance practices well beyond the current law.

Polls demonstrate that this rider is not what Michigan voters want. Two Michigan Governors have vetoed similar insurance restrictions like this in the past. It’s time to stop interfering with the health and lives of the women in your state and let the voters decide for themselves.