New ads call out Republican-backed Michigan Supreme Court candidates over their anti-abortion records

A political action committee tied to Planned Parenthood of Michigan is warning voters to reject both Republican-backed candidates running for the state Supreme Court this year. 

MICHIGAN—A multi-million-dollar advertising and door-knocking campaign launched this month by Michigan Planned Parenthood Votes aims to raise awareness of the anti-abortion viewpoints espoused by two Republican-backed candidates running for Michigan Supreme Court.

The $2 million campaign, which is part of Planned Parenthood’s continued efforts to protect and expand reproductive rights, includes two digital ads urging voters to elect Democratic-backed state Supreme Court candidates Kyra Harris Bolden and Kimberly Ann Thomas. 

Both ads appear on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Hulu, Roku, as well as other streaming platforms, and have amassed more than 10 million views since they went online this month. 

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The new ads also take aim at their Republican-backed opponents, Patrick William O’Grady and Andrew Fink, suggesting they’d be willing to “support” an abortion ban without exceptions, should the issue ever make its way to the most powerful court in the state of Michigan.

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“Abortion bans are hurting people we love. Here in Michigan, we need to protect our freedoms—which means protecting the [state] Supreme Court,” one of the 30-second ads states. “Patrick O’Grady and Andrew Fink support abortion bans, even in cases of rape and incest. Justice Kyra Harris Bolden and Kimberly Ann Thomas will protect our reproductive freedom, which makes voting for them on the nonpartisan ballot even more important.”

What’s at stake?

Two Michigan Supreme Court seats are up for grabs in this year’s election. 

Bolden and Thomas were each nominated by the Michigan Democratic Party, which supports access to abortion. O’Grady and Fink have been nominated by the state Republican Party, which generally opposes reproductive rights. Voters decide who gets elected on Nov. 5.

Democratic-backed justices currently hold a 4-3 majority on the Court. Republican victories could flip control of the court, while two Democratic wins would yield a 5-2 majority.

With crucial decisions involving reproductive rights and abortion bans making their way to state supreme courts across the country in recent years, whoever wins a spot on the bench next year will likely have a hand in making some big decisions for the people of Michigan. And Planned Parenthood is trying to hold the Republican-backed candidates accountable for their records.

“Two years ago, Michiganders came out in record numbers to protect our reproductive freedom, and we’ll do it again this November by voting for reproductive health champions up and down the ballot,” Erica Shekell, a spokeswoman for Michigan Planned Parenthood Votes, said in a statement this week. “Michiganders have made it clear: At no point during a pregnancy should politicians have a say in medical decisions we make with our doctors and our families.”

Campaign Endorsements

Because the seven judges who serve on the Michigan Supreme Court are technically nonpartisan, and often guarded about their political views, it’s not always easy for voters to identify which judicial candidates align most closely with their personal beliefs and values.

And on the campaign trail, neither Fink nor O’Grady have explicitly stated that they support an abortion ban in Michigan—regardless of whether would include exceptions for rape or incest.

Campaign endorsements, however, can offer key clues—and offer some insight into how Fink and O’Grady could decide key cases if they’re elected to the bench, Shekell told The ‘Gander.

For starters: Both Fink’s and O’Grady’s campaigns are backed by Right to Life of Michigan, a staunch, anti-abortion organization with a history of advocating for state legislation to restrict reproductive rights in Michigan. In exchange for those endorsements, each candidate is clearly required to “be prolife with no exceptions other than the life of the mother,” the group states.

Ex-President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly bragged about appointing the US Supreme Court judges who overturned Roe and tried to overturn Michigan’s 2020 election results, has endorsed O’Grady for the Michigan Supreme Court. Fink has also been endorsed by several sponsors of anti-abortion bills that have been introduced in the state Legislature. 

Citizens for Traditional Values and the Conservative Political Action Conference, which have long records of opposing reproductive rights, have also endorsed Fink and O’Grady.

Textualist Views

Both Fink and O’Grady have voiced staunch support for an originalist, textualist, and otherwise “constitutional conservative” approach to deciphering state laws in Michigan. And that’s the exact legal principle that guided the majority on the US Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade—ultimately peeling back the constitutional right to abortion for millions of women.

In a recent interview with The ‘Gander, Michigan ACLU Legal Director Bonsitu Kitaba said Michigan voters should be “very careful” with the concept of textualism this year—especially given the damage that particular judicial philosophy could have on their civil liberties.

“I think what [Republican-backed judges] are trying to telegraph, especially when they couple those phrases with conservatism, is they want to take a narrow view of what the Constitution means and what civil rights mean to people,” she said. “Voters have to be very careful when they’re assessing the credentials and philosophies of these judges when they say that.”

Shekell said those same views among judges in other state courts have unleashed a “reproductive health crisis” that has led to deaths in Georgia, Texas, and Indiana—making it crucial for Michigan voters to elect judges who’d take a more pragmatic approach to the law.

“At no point should a politician have a say in medical decisions,” Shekell contended.

Fink’s Record

Fink’s voting record as a state lawmaker includes direct support for bills that target reproductive rights—including sponsoring legislation that sought to ban abortion after fetal viability. Last year, Fink also voted against repealing Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban, as well as opposed the Reproductive Health Act and additional legislation to protect access to fertility treatment.

Shekell contends Fink’s record speaks for itself, and offers a clear insight into how he would rule on future cases involving reproductive rights, should they make their way to the state’s top court.

Of course, Michigan’s Code of Judicial Conduct now requires that Fink—and all other judicial candidates—keep quiet on those controversial issues, so as to avoid “impropriety and the appearance of impropriety” and not to appear biased on high-stakes issues like abortion.

But groups dedicated to protecting Michiganders’ rights, including their ability to make their own reproductive health care decisions, clearly haven’t forgotten about Fink’s record on the issue.

“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,” Reproductive Freedom for All President Mini Timmaraju said in a recent statement endorsing Thomas.

O’Grady and ‘Almighty God’

During a candidate forum at a church in rural Livingston County this summer, O’Grady introduced himself as a Christian man and pledged to focus on a vision for Michigan’s courts that relies on “Almighty God” and the “Judeo-Christian principles of our founding fathers.”

“We are very fortunate that we do have a country that was founded on Judeo-Christian principles of our founding fathers. We also have the same thing for our state,” he said. “If you read the preamble to the state Constitution, they’re basically forming this state pursuant to Almighty God. It’s in the preamble. It’s right there. That’s how they open it up. A group of people saying, ‘we’re getting ready to create this state, and we’re doing it for almighty God.’”

He added: “When you have a Christian worldview as an example, your conscience is in line with [the state Constitution]. It’s really only when you don’t have that or when you’re trying to stretch them, bend them, change them, create something that’s not there, it’s acrimony in your soul.”

Shekell said the recent remarks demonstrate that O’Grady “would impose his personal religious views” on Michiganders and that he “cannot be trusted to uphold the Michigan Constitution.”

“While anti-abortion politicians attempt to rewrite their anti-abortion records and gaslight voters into voting for them, Michiganders know that actions speak louder than words,” Shekell said. “Michiganders have worked too hard to protect our freedom to make the decisions that are best for their health, families, and futures to have them stripped away. We decide what comes next.”

Beyond the focus on the Michigan Supreme Court election, the new advertising campaign from Planned Parenthood Michigan Votes also emphasizes the stakes of this year’s presidential race, as well as several key Michigan House districts where anti-abortion Republican candidates are currently running for office—specifically in state House Districts 27, 54, 55, 83, and 103.  

READ MORE: 10 cases that show how the Michigan Supreme Court shapes your rights 

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