Michigan Board of Canvassers deadlocks on abortion rights initiative vote

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Michigan's Board of Canvassers deadlocked in a Wednesday vote to put an abortion rights measure on the November ballot after amassing enough signatures for the amendment to qualify. The decision is now up to the courts whether the initiative will appear on the ballot for the November election. 

The ballot initiative would enshrine abortion in the state constitution, protecting a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy without outside interference. The amendment covers abortion procedures and other reproductive services and resources including birth control. 

The Michigan Board of State Canvassers voted 2-2, splitting along party lines. Republican opponents of the initiative, including Grand Rapids Right to Life, argued the amendment was filled with "gibberish." President of Grand Rapids Right to Life Laura Alexandria told Fox News Digital the amendment would "wreak havoc on all laws in Michigan related to abortion and pregnancy" if passed. 

"The election board is silencing the voice of the public. We know that the majority of Americans want access to abortion, as we saw in Kansas earlier this month. People are energized and will not let their rights be trampled," Ashley Gray, senior advisor at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

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Members of the Michigan state Board of Canvassers could not reach a decision on whether a ballot initiative that seeks to enshrine abortion rights into Michigan's constitution should go to voters in November.  (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

"The Board of State Canvassers today did the right thing by refusing to insert into our constitution the gibberish proposed by advocates for this extreme amendment," Citizens to Support Michigan Women and Children told Fox News Digital in a statement. "The Michigan Supreme Court should support this move to protect our constitution from their vandalism as well. We will also bring voters into this discussion with our first television ad of the campaign, with voters sharing their outrage over the idea that anyone would propose injecting 60 mistakes into our constitution forever."

The abortion initiative garnered close to double the required signatures needed to be passed onto the Board, with 753,759 signatures total. The signatures have not been verified by the Board of Elections or the Board of State Canvassers. 

The ultimate ruling now lies with the state Supreme Court. The groups have seven business days to appeal to the high court and the ballot must be finalized by Sept. 9. Proponents of the initiative have stated they will file a lawsuit and ask for the court to order the measure be included on November's ballot, according to ABC News. 

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The push for such an initiative comes following Kansas' vote to reject an abortion measure that would have allowed the legislature to further restrict abortion access in the state. 

Abortion opponents are seen outside as the Michigan Board of State Canvassers meet during a hearing, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, in Lansing, Mich.  (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Michigan is one of several states with a pre-Roe law in place that many pro-life advocates had hoped would be triggered following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark case. The 1931 Michigan law makes it a crime to assist an abortion, except in cases when it is "necessary to preserve the life of such woman."

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Abortion opponents are seen outside as the Michigan Board of State Canvassers meet during a hearing, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, in Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

A state judge temporarily blocked the law via an injunction sought by Planned Parenthood of Michigan in May, shortly before the U.S. Supreme Court decision was announced. Court of Claims Judge Elizabeth Gleicher said the ban likely violated voters' Constitutional rights. 

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The temporary block was later lifted by a state Court of Appeals panel on Aug. 1, allowing the state's 83 county prosecutors to bring felony charges against health providers who perform abortions other than in instances where the mother's life is in danger. 

A judge later blocked the law on Aug. 19, overturning the Aug. 1 ruling and blocking county prosecutors from enforcing the law.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.