Michigan AG Dana Nessel Joins Forces with Planned Parenthood CEO, Vows to Defend Reproductive Rights Post-Dobbs Ruling on "Pantsuits and Lawsuits" Podcast

In a recent tell-all on the podcast "Pantsuits and Lawsuits", Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel aired out the state's efforts to uphold reproductive rights alongside Planned Parenthood's Alexis McGill Johnson. The conversation honed in on the aftermath of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, which flipped the federal precedent set by Roe v. Wade and sent reproductive health care into a tailspin for many across the country. Nessel and McGill Johnson discussed the impact of this upheaval on access to services from contraceptives to abortion.

According to the Michigan Office of the Attorney General, since the landmark ruling, 22 states have put abortion bans into effect. This has left one in three women of reproductive age in the United States without adequate health care coverage. In Michigan, however, voters countered the tide in 2022 with Proposal 3, effectively embedding reproductive rights into the state constitution. Even so, Nessel warns of the continued legal onslaught from national groups trying to undermine these protections, "Rather than respecting the choices made by individual states, anti-choice groups have continued to mount targeted legal challenges with the express purpose of chipping away at Americans' remaining rights to bodily autonomy – from abortion to IVF, birth control, and even the ability for a person to manage their own miscarriage," Nessel said. It's a chess match of legal maneuvers, with the prize being the basic rights over one's body.

Nessel's proactive measures to uphold reproductive freedom include leading charges alongside 17 other attorneys general. The collective filed an amicus brief in March, lobbying the U.S. Supreme Court to support a lower court’s decision to uphold Medicaid recipients’ right to choose their health care provider, including entities like Planned Parenthood. This has been positioned as a critical avenue to maintain some semblance of healthcare access for millions, especially those depending on Medicaid coverage.