State Rep. TC Clements today praised the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision that the Constitution allows states to protect innocent human life before birth by preventing abortion.

“The Supreme Court correctly recognized that no ‘right’ to an abortion exists in the Constitution,” said Clements, R-Temperance. “As our framers intended, this important matter should be decided at the state level by legislators and voters — not by federal judges.

“Science is clear: A baby is a human, inside or outside the mother. Aborting a child kills an innocent person. I will continue working to protect children in the womb, the most vulnerable in our society.”

In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court today upheld a Mississippi law generally prohibiting abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. A majority of the justices specifically ruled that “the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion,” overturning precedents in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, instead returning “the authority to regulate abortion … to the people and their elected representatives.”

A Michigan law does prohibit abortion in most cases, beginning at conception. However, a state judge recently issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit claiming the Michigan Constitution protects a right to abortion. The injunction temporarily prevents enforcement of the law while the case moves forward, but the Legislature has intervened in the case to defend the statute. Clements this week co-sponsored a bill to clarify the law and ensure strict penalties for doctors and others who perform abortions, while shielding mothers from prosecution.

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