Reproductive rights groups stand behind Kyra Harris Bolden for Michigan Supreme Court

Abortion rights groups say voters can trust Michigan Supreme Court Justice Kyra Harris Bolden to keep protecting their legal right to access to reproductive health care. 

MICHIGAN—With two seats on the state Supreme Court up for grabs in this year’s election, Michiganders will have a chance to decide the makeup of the most powerful court in the state—as well as who has the final say on some of the most important legal issues in the state.

But because the seven judges who serve on the Michigan Supreme Court are technically nonpartisan and do not necessarily subscribe to the agenda of one political party or another, it’s not always simple for Michigan voters to identify which judicial candidates align most closely with their personal beliefs and values.

Endorsements, however, can offer clues. And when it comes to protecting access to abortion in Michigan, reproductive rights groups appear to have placed their bets on Supreme Court Justice Kyra Harris Bolden, who is running to finish out a partial term on the bench this year.

So far, Bolden—who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2022 by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and is now running to finish the remainder of former Chief Justice Bridget McCormack’s term—has rounded up support from Reproductive Freedom for All, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, the Michigan Nurses Association, the Michigan Democratic Party, and other groups with lengthy records of defending Michiganders’ legal right to access abortion.

Here’s the Deal:

Because of the nonpartisan nature of the Court, candidates who seek these positions typically try to approach every issue with an open mind—without revealing their personal viewpoints on any given issue, especially controversial and politicized topics like access to abortion care.

Although Bolden was picked by Whitmer and endorsed by the state Democratic Party, she has been careful to avoid taking a predetermined position on reproductive rights, instead promising only to “look” at existing state laws and to “try to interpret” them as necessary in a recent interview with The ‘Gander.

“I’ll wait for those issues to arrive,” she said. “It’s really hard to say anything generally about an issue before it comes to the Court. And as a justice, I really keep that thought process sacred.”

But as a former member of the state House of Representatives, Bolden was openly pro-choice—including by opposing state legislation in 2019 that sought to make “partial-birth” abortions punishable by up to two years in prison, with no exceptions for rape or incest.

That inaccurate term is often used by Republicans to describe the dilation and extraction (or D&E) procedure used in late-term abortions that almost always occur due to fetal abnormalities or to protect the mother’s health. The procedure is also used for miscarriages.

The abortion ban bill never made it through the state House—and nowadays, it would no longer comply with the state Constitution, which includes legal protections for reproductive health care.

“I think I might hold the record of name-checking Planned Parenthood on the House floor and maybe talking about my uterus more than any other legislator who is currently serving,” Bolden said during a virtual forum with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan in 2021. 

And this year, reproductive rights groups are billing Bolden—as well as Michigan Supreme Court candidate Kimberly Ann Thomas—as “reproductive freedom champions” who will keep protecting abortion access in Michigan as required by the recently amended state Constitution.

“This is a historic opportunity to elect Kyra Harris Bolden, who is a tried and true reproductive freedom champion,” Reproductive Freedom for All President Mini Timmaraju said in a statement. “We’ve seen time and again that state courts are on the front lines of our fight for reproductive freedom. Michiganders need justices they can trust to uphold their rights.”

Bolden has also scored an endorsement from the Vote Mama PAC, which scores candidates based on their views on abortion—including their support for re-codifying the federal abortion protections that were lost when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. She has also been endorsed by Detroit Action, which has advocated for access to abortion care.

The Michigan Nurses Association, which endorsed Bolden earlier this year, has also publicly supported access to the “full range of reproductive health care for everyone”—including (but not limited to) access to contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management, and fertility care.

EMILY’s List has also endorsed Bolden this year—namely because of her “dedication and tenacity,” as well as the “critical role that state Supreme Courts play in protecting our reproductive freedom,” EMILY’s List President Jessica Mackler said in a statement. 

“Bolden’s historic service has been exemplified by a commitment to fairly interpreting the law and protecting the rights of Michiganders,” she said. “At a time when courts in more than half of the country are seeing cases related to abortion rights, ensuring a strong pro-choice majority on the state’s Supreme Court is critical to safeguard abortion access for years to come.”

Connecting the Dots

The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest legal authority in the state, and it wields the power to decide whether laws are constitutional and whether ballot initiatives can move forward. It also has the authority to interpret state laws and decide how they apply to Michiganders.

For example, in July 2022, the Court ruled that the state’s anti-discrimination law also applies to LGBTQ people. And after a ballot initiative to enshrine reproductive rights into the state Constitution was initially blocked by Republicans on the state Board of Canvassers, the Michigan Supreme Court stepped in and decided that the initiative should be left to a vote.

That decision to greenlight the state ballot initiative was ultimately the only reason why Michiganders could decide on issues like abortion access on the ballot in November 2022.

And recent decisions in other states have shown just how powerful a role the courts play. 

In Arizona, the state Supreme Court recently upheld a 160-year-old law that banned all abortions unless the patient’s life was in danger. In Alabama, a decision from the state Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos were people (temporarily) caused IVF providers to stop offering services in the state. The Florida Supreme Court this year also decided to uphold a 15-week abortion ban, a decision that ultimately allowed a six-week ban to go into effect .

As other lawsuits about abortion care in Michigan make their way through the court system, more questions of reproductive freedom may find their way in front of these seven justices. 

“It’s critical that we have fair and impartial justices on the Michigan Supreme Court who will uphold the abortion rights Michiganders have fought so hard to enshrine,” said Shanay Watson-Whittaker, Michigan Campaigns Director for Reproductive Freedom for All. “We know that Kyra Harris Bolden and Kimberly Ann Thomas are the judges to do the job.”

READ MORE: Bolden pledges justice ‘without fear or favor’ on Michigan Supreme Court

For the latest Michigan news, follow The ‘Gander on Twitter.

Follow Political Correspondent Kyle Kaminski here.