Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order Wednesday declaring that the state will not extradite people who have been criminally charged for any role in an abortion procedure unless required to do so by the US Constitution. Article IV, Section 2, Clause 2 of the US
Constitution requires that anyone who is charged with a crime within one state, and is later found in another, must be returned to face charges upon request.
In May, a Michigan judge granted an injunction to stop the state’s 1931 law banning abortion. The injunction came after the Supreme Court’s leaked decision overturning Roe v. Wade—the Supreme Court decision guaranteeing a constitutional right to abortion. One week later Governor Whitmer sent an executive directive to the State Department Directors and Autonomous Agency Heads setting standards to protect reproductive rights in Michigan. At the end of June, the Supreme Court did indeed overrule Roe v. Wade in their decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Several states have since banned abortions completely, including Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas. However, arguments remain regarding women who seek abortions out of state or out of country. Whitmer’s executive order protects Michigan women and doctors from being extradited for abortions done in Michigan. Likewise, the order will stop other states from forcing extradition for citizens who are in Michigan to seek an abortion. The same policies are in place for women who leave the country for the procedure.
Governor Whitmer said “I cannot in good conscience participate in other states’ efforts to make it a crime to exercise a fundamental right or to punish health-care providers.” Several states, like Michigan, California, and New Jersey, are trying to protect reproductive rights for their citizens and those from different states. Earlier this month, President Joe Biden signed an executive order likewise protecting access to reproductive rights. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has challenged Biden’s order in court.
