ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — Hundreds of people gathered at the University of Michigan for a pro-choice vigil on the diag. The crowd held signs that illustrated their frustration with today's Supreme Court ruling that bans abortion.
“Women have the right to make their own decisions," Congresswoman Debbie Dingell shouted to the crowd.
She said to 7 Action News, “This morning when we heard the news, as colleagues, men and women, we walked over to the Supreme Court, in front of the Supreme Court to make our statement.”
Dingell called for peace in the coming days. Carrie Rheingans organized the vigil, alongside Katie Scott and Eli Savit.
“We need to process all the multiple wide array of feelings that we have tonight," she told 7 Action News.
Rheingans shares the same concerns as Washtenaw County commissioner and vigil co-organizer Katie Scott. They both see the SCOTUS ruling as a slippery slope.
Scott explained, “I’m worried about the country in terms of what something like what Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his opinion about states should reconsider decisions like Obergefell and Lawrence v. Texas which take away rights from LGBTQ people and also maybe talked about decisions having to do with birth control and how legal that remains.”
Washtenaw County prosecutor and vigil co-organizer Eli Savit calls the SCOTUS decision “horrible” and “woefully misguided”.
"I want to emphasize that abortion remains legal in Michigan, as of now, because that (1931) law has been blocked by a judge," Savit said.
He continued, “But no matter what happens in the court, we are not going to be prosecuting abortions. I do not think it’s just. I do not think it’s a good use of our resources. We’re not going to spend our scarce resources prosecuting patients, providers, and doctors. I want all the people of Washtenaw County to know that.”
Savit says supporters of abortion will use every legal tool possible to one day settle the issue in front of the Michigan Supreme Court.
