An initiative on Michigan's ballot, if voters approve, will enshrine the right to an abortion in the state, but won't allow abortion on demand in the final months of pregnancy, as opponents claim, according to Rep. Elissa Slotkin.
"The ballot initiative that we have says that you can have the right to an abortion up to the point of viability, and then afterward it has to be because of the health of the mother deemed by a medical professional," the Michigan Democrat, who is seeking reelection, commented Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "It's not abortion on demand, it's not through the ninth month, or all these talking points that the Republicans are using because they know they're on their heels on this issue, so I support that ballot initiative."
But Slotkin, who is a proponent of abortion rights, said she agrees that there should be limits to third-trimester procedures.
"I agree with the proposal which says up to viability you have the right to make that decision on your own, but afterward you need the input of a medical professional," she said. "I think that's the right place for our state, and frankly, I think for the country."
Slotkin as a moderate Democrat said she does think there is room within the party for people who oppose abortion, but at the same time, she said she represents a district where the majority of constituents also identify as being anti-abortion.
"I've been at plenty of events as recently as yesterday where people will say, 'Look, I'm a pro-life Democrat,'" said Slotkin. "But I think the distinction is that they're not trying to impose their will on this issue on other people, on other women. They have a personal conviction that they feel very firmly about, and I respect that. But they're not trying to say that their will has to be imposed on the rest of all women. They have a place in this party, but I think they also will say very openly they don't believe the government should make that decision for women."
Slotkin on Sunday also commented on the controversy concerning Georgia Senate GOP candidate Herschel Walker, who has been accused of having allegedly paid for an ex-girlfriend's abortion, despite his anti-abortion stance.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, his Democrat opponent, has decided not to attack Walker directly over the claims, and Slotkin said she understands the "instinct to just let him stand in the spotlight and answer for his own record, and not take that as a moment to just kind of double down on the attack."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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