After Hannity says he doubts Michigan would ever ban abortion, a GOP Rep tells him it already has

Reporting from Michigan indicates that both Hannity and Rep. Walberg are wrong

Written by Media Matters Staff

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After Hannity says he doubts Michigan would ever ban abortion, a GOP Rep tells him it already has

After Hannity says he doubts Michigan would ever ban abortion, a GOP Rep tells him it already has

From the June 28, 2022, edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Sean Hannity Show

SEAN HANNITY (HOST): Hey, congressman, they're also lying to everybody --

TIM WALBERG (R-MI): Yeah.

HANNITY: -- Because abortion is not illegal. It's not going to be illegal in your state of Michigan. I'd bet my last dollar that's not gonna be the case. Am I wrong?

WALBERG: No, it is illegal in the state right now. In 1931, Michigan passed one of the first anti-abortion laws. It says that there is no abortion --

HANNITY: So, they have to have a trigger provision, but wouldn't you expect with Governor Whitmer and the legislature as it's currently configured, what do you expect that the likelihood of them changing that is going to be pretty swift?

WALBERG: Well, they're gonna take action and, in fact, our attorney general, our lawless attorney general like Merrick Garland, is saying she will not enforce the law if Roe v Wade goes away. That's the challenge we have, but we're gonna fight it in the legislature. We have a pro-life legislature in the House and the Senate in Michigan. They have to get through that legislature if they're gonna do it constitutionally, and we will battle back. But again Sean, that's where --

HANNITY: But you got a liberal governor, her name is Gretchen Whitmer --

WALBERG: Gretchen Whitmer, but she can't change the law by herself. And that's where the American people -- and I'm grateful for you to take an interest in this strongly for years. That's where we have to stand up and fight back and say no, the law is the law. The Constitution is the Constitution.

In Michigan, we have a law. 1931, it's as up to date as Louisiana's law. It's up to date as Florida's law. It's up to the date as any law that's got put through in recent years. We did it in 1931, it is an abortion law that says it is illegal except in the case of the life of the mother. That's not out of the -- out of the norm now that we've seen going on. So we're going to push back sure they're going to fight us. You bet they are. But we've got to stand, and I think that's where the message has to get out folks. If you let this happen, all of your freedom is at risk at this point, and it's gonna go away unless we stand up for what is right. 

As reported by the Detroit Free Press:

The 6-3 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health obliterates the seminal case that legalized a constitutional right to an abortion nationally in 1973, Roe v. Wade. Chief Justice John Roberts agreed to uphold the Mississippi law at the heart of the Dobbs case but would not have ruled to overturn Roe, meaning the ultimate decision to nix national abortion rights was 5-4.

In theory, that would mean Michigan’s law criminalizing most abortions is again enforceable: A 1931 statute only allows abortions "necessary to preserve the life of such woman,” a vague standard left untested by doctors and the courts for decades. The law on Michigan’s books does not allow exceptions for cases of rape or incest.

However, a May ruling by a Michigan Court of Claims judge aims to temporarily block enforcement of that law. Although Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel already said she doesn’t plan to charge anyone under the law, it’s unclear whether law enforcement at the local level will test the court of claims’ injunction.

You can find additional reporting on Michigan here and here.