Right to Life wants these Republicans to bring their anti-abortion agenda to Lansing

Anti-abortion groups want Michiganders to elect Republicans to take over the state House of Representatives—and then restrict reproductive rights.

MICHIGAN—Reproductive rights are set to play a big role in this year’s election in Michigan. And one right-wing advocacy group is making it incredibly simple for voters to identify which state House of Representative candidates have absolutely no interest in defending those rights.

Right to Life of Michigan is a staunch, anti-abortion organization with a history of advocating for state legislation to restrict reproductive rights in Michigan—including by supporting efforts to enact abortion bans without exceptions for rape or incest and restrict access to birth control.

And with every seat in the state House up for grabs in November, Right to Life of Michigan’s online catalog of official endorsements now effectively serves as a guidebook to all of the right-wing Republicans who are standing ready to enact an anti-abortion agenda in Lansing.

This year, Right to Life of Michigan’s PAC has endorsed at least 57 candidates for the Michigan House of Representatives—all Republicans, and all of them willing to support abortion bans with no exceptions other than to save the life of the mother, according to the endorsement criteria. 

That includes 42 incumbent Republican lawmakers, as well as 15 challengers who are trying to help the Michigan Republican Party win back majority control of the state Legislature next year. 

Here’s the full list of the group’s endorsed anti-abortion candidates running for the state House this year:

• Rylee Linting — 27th District
• Jamie Thompson — 28th District
• James DeSana — 29th District
• William T. Bruck — 30th District
• Dale Biniecki — 31st District
• Nancy Jenkins-Arno — 34th District
• Jennifer Wortz — 35th District
• Tom Matthew — 35th District
• Steve Carra — 36th District
• Kevin Whiteford — 38th District
• Pauline Wendzel — 39th District
• Matt Hall — 42nd District
• Rachelle Smit — 43rd District
• Steve Frisbie — 44th District
• Sarah Lightner — 45th District
• Kathy Schmaltz — 46th District
• Ann Bollin — 49th District
• Jason Woolford — 50th District
• Matt Maddock — 51st District
• Mark Tisdel — 55th District
• Ron Robinson — 58th District
• Douglas C. Wozniak — 59th District
• Joseph Aragona — 60th District
• Robert Wojtowicz — 61st District
• Jay DeBoyer — 63rd District
• Joseph G. Pavlov — 64th District
• Jaime Greene — 65th District
• Josh Schriver — 66th District
• Phil Green — 67th District
• David W. Martin — 68th District
• Brian BeGole — 71st District
• Mike Mueller — 72nd District
• Andy Shaver — 76th District
• Gina Johnsen — 78th District
• Angela Rigas — 79th District
• John Wetzel — 84th District
• Bradley Slagh — 85th District
• Nancy DeBoer — 86th District
• Greg VanWoerkom — 88th District
• Luke Meerman — 89th District
• Pat Outman — 91st District
• Jerry Neyer — 92nd District
• Tim Kelly — 93rd District
• Bill G. Schuette — 95th District
• Timothy Beson — 96th District
• Matthew Bierlein — 97th District
• Gregory L. Alexander — 98th District
• Mike Hoadley — 99th District
• Tom Kunse — 100th District
• Joseph D. Fox — 101st District
• Curt VanderWall — 102nd District
• John R. Roth — 104th District
• Ken Borton — 105th District
• Cam Cavitt — 106th District
• Parker Fairbairn — 107th District
• David Prestin — 108th District
• Gregory J. Markkanen — 110th District

What about Proposal 3?

Michigan’s constitutional protections for reproductive health care would be a major obstacle for any Republican lawmaker who wants to ban or restrict access to abortion in the state. And polling has long shown that most Michiganders want abortion to be available and affordable.

But anti-abortion groups are focused on the end-game—and their mission hasn’t changed. 

Right to Life, as just one example, is actively suing the state in an effort to toss out Michigan’s voter-approved constitutional right to abortion access. A Republican majority in the state House could also work to enact new restrictions to replace the state’s now-repealed abortion ban. 

With Proposal 3 on the books in Michigan, such restrictions on reproductive care would go nowhere. But if Right to Life were to succeed in overturning the state’s constitutional protections for reproductive rights, a Republican majority could, in theory, put new legal restrictions in place. 

And in obtaining their endorsements from Right to Life this year, each of the Republican candidates have essentially vowed to keep chipping away at those reproductive rights statewide, regardless of how Michiganders voted on the issue at the polls in 2022. 

Right to Life of Michigan has also issued endorsements for the two Republican candidates for the Michigan Supreme Court, seven Republicans running to represent Michigan in the US House, as well as a long list of county clerks, prosecutors, sheriffs, and school board members.

Several prominent anti-abortion candidates are not included in the endorsement list, which also requires candidates to submit answers to a questionnaire in order to be featured in the directory.

READ MORE: 12 Republicans who rejected Michiganders’ views on abortion

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