Archbishop of Detroit warns parishioners of Michigan abortion initiative

In an unusual move, the Archbishop of Detroit has mailed a letter to every registered parishioner in his archdiocese to warn them of a pro-abortion ballot initiative he labels as a “vast and extreme” effort “primarily funded by out-of-state dollars” and “spearheaded by Planned Parenthood and the ACLU.” 

Archbishop Vigneron’s mailed letter constituted an action the Catholic News Agency (CNA) described as “rare” and “nearly unprecedented” — an act that underscores the seriousness of the archbishop’s protest against the statewide pro-abortion ballot initiative. The state’s Ballot Proposal 3 of 2022, also known as Proposal 22-3, would make Michigan a preferred destination for abortion tourism. “If passed, this proposal would transform Michigan into ground zero for abortions performed anywhere, at any time, by any person, for any reason,” the archbishop said, according to CNA.

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The text of the proposal says it “would amend the state constitution to provide that every individual has a right to reproductive freedom, including the right to make and carry out pregnancy-related decisions,” including “prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion, miscarriage management, and infertility care.” Ballot Proposal 3 goes on to take aim specifically at abortion restrictions: “The state could regulate abortion after the fetus is viable, but it could not under any circumstances prohibit an abortion that is medically indicated to protect the life, physical health, or mental health of the pregnant individual.”

“As disciples of Christ, we affirm the inherent, God-given dignity of every person, from conception to natural death. Abortion is a grave offense to the dignity of the most vulnerable person, the unborn child. We understand this as Catholics,” the archbishop wrote in his letter. “The implications of this proposal are vast and extreme. Due to its broad and vague language, Proposal 3 would invalidate dozens of existing laws related to abortion,” including allowing taxpayer-funded abortion, abortions based on a child’s sex, partial-birth abortion, and abortions performed by unqualified individuals.

According to Steve Liedel, an attorney for the ballot initiative, “The provision itself on its own does not invalidate any other laws,” reports Bridge Michigan, referring to existing statewide abortion regulations. Yet John Bursch, legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, argued that the ballot proposal would create a “constitutional right” that “would trump the (state) statute,” adding, “This amendment doesn’t have any constraint on the right as it applies to every individual.”

In a statement, the Catholic Lawyers Society of Metropolitan Detroit agreed with Archbishop Vigneron’s assessment. “Those supporting Proposal 3 claim that it just returns Michigan to the days of Roe v. Wade, but as lawyers we see that it goes much farther than that—it creates a new, vague, and potentially limitless set of ‘reproductive rights,’ ‘including but not limited to,’ abortion, sterilization, and other procedures and services related to reproduction,” the law society said. “Laws enacted by the Michigan Legislature—including all of the laws already on the books that fully comply with Roe—would be subject to review under Proposal 3 and could be struck down by the courts because of Proposal 3.”

In his letter, the archbishop urged parishioners to vote against Ballot Proposal 3 using stark language. “To vote in favor of this proposal would be to actively participate in the promotion and expansion of the intrinsic moral evil of abortion,” the archbishop wrote. “By voting No on Proposal 3, we build a foundation for a culture in which every human life is valued, and women and families readily receive the support they need to thrive.”