Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey
Michigan Proposal A, Prohibit Public Funds for Abortions for Public Assistance Recipients Referendum (1988)
| Michigan Proposal A | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 1988 | |
| Topic Abortion | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Referendum | Origin Citizens |
Michigan Proposal A, the Prohibit Public Funds for Abortions for Public Assistance Recipients Referendum, was on the ballot in Michigan as a veto referendum on November 8, 1988. The ballot measure was approved, thus upholding Public Act 59 of 1987.
A “yes” vote supported prohibiting public funds from being spent on abortions for public assistance recipients unless the abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother. |
A “no” vote opposed prohibiting public funds from being spent on abortions for public assistance recipients unless the abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother. |
Overview
What would Proposal A have changed about abortion law in Michigan?
This referendum approves Public Act 59 of 1987, which amends the Social Welfare Act of 1939 to prohibit the use of public assistance to fund abortion unless necessary to preserve the life of the mother. This public assistance included "medical assistance, general assistance, or categorical assistance or through any other type of public aid or assistance program."
How was Proposal A placed on the ballot?
- See also: Path to the ballot
Proposal A pertains to Act 59, an indirect initiative that would prohibit the use of public funds to fund abortions, except in cases to save the life of the mother. In 1987, signatures were gathered for Act 59 to be placed on the ballot, and the measure was certified and went to the Michigan State Legislature. The Legislature approved Act 59, and it was scheduled to go into effect 90 days after the legislative session ended.
On March 1, 1988, signatures were submitted to implement a veto referendum, which would become Proposal A, against Act 59. This occurred a month before Act 59 would go into effect. On March 28, 1988, the Michigan attorney general ruled that the veto referendum could be put into effect. Act 59, as a result, was suspended. On April 13, 1988, the Board of State canvassers ruled that 194,000 of the signatures submitted were valid. The referendum was then put onto the ballot as Proposal A for the 1988 general election in Michigan.
Aftermath
Doe v Department of Social Services
In 1992, plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the Department of Social Services, arguing that the state's refusal to pay for an abortion violated the equal protection guarantee of the Michigan Constitution. Plaintiffs argued that the text 400.109a, the amendment to the Social Welfare Act of 1939, provided unequal treatment to two classes of women: women who choose to get an abortion, and the women who choose to continue the pregnancy to delivery. The trial court in this case dismissed the suit. The Michigan Court of Appeals then reversed this decision, concluding that the statute directly interfered with a woman's right to an abortion, and that the equal protection guarantee in the Michigan Constitution provided greater protection than the guarantee in the federal constitution. The Michigan Supreme Court then reversed the decision of the Michigan Court of Appeals, arguing there is no evidence within the Michigan Constitution to provide broader protection than within the federal Constitution, and that the state's decision to fund childbirth, but not abortion, does not violate the equal protection guarantee of the Michigan Constitution.
Election results
|
Michigan Proposal A |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
|
|
1,959,727 | 56.87% | ||
| No | 1,486,371 | 43.13% | ||
Text of Measure
Ballot title
The official ballot title was as follows:[1]
| “ |
Restrict Use of Tax Funds for Abortions for Persons Receiving Public Assistance Public Act 59 of 1987 is a law that states that tax funds shall not be used to pay for an abortion for a person receiving public assistance unless necessary to save the life of the mother. Should the Law be approved? YES [ ] NO [ ][2] |
” |
Full text
Proposal A was a veto referendum on Public Act 59, which amends the Social Welfare Act of 1939. The following is the text of Act 280 of 1939, section 400.109a:[3] [4]
400.109a Abortion as service provided with public funds to welfare recipient; prohibition; exception; policy. Sec. 109a. Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, an abortion shall not be a service provided with public funds to a recipient of welfare benefits, whether through a program of medical assistance, general assistance, or categorical assistance or through any other type of public aid or assistance program, unless the abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother. It is the policy of this state to prohibit the appropriation of public funds for the purpose of providing an abortion to a person who receives welfare benefits unless the abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother. |
Support for a "Yes" vote
The People's Campaign for Choice led the campaign for a "yes" vote of the veto referendum.[5]
Supporters
Organizations
- ACLU of Michigan
- League of Women Voters
- Michigan NARAL
- Michigan Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights
- Planned Parenthood of Michigan
Support for a "No" vote
The Committee to End Tax-Funded Abortions led the campaign for the "no" vote of the veto referendum.
Opponents
Organizations
Path to the ballot
Stages of this veto referendum
On March 1, 1988, 229,098 signatures were submitted to implement a veto referendum against Act 59, the indirect initiative to restrict the use of public funds for abortions for public assistance recipients. On March 28, 1988, the Michigan attorney general ruled that the referendum could be put into effect, and Act 59 was suspended. On April 13, 1988, the Board of State canvassers ruled that 194,000 of the signatures submitted were valid, putting the referendum on the ballot. Act 59 would then be submitted to the people by a referendum on the general election in November 1988.[6]
On November 8, 1988, the majority voted to uphold Act 59, with 1.95 million voters supporting the measure and 1.48 million voters against it.[7]
See also
|
External links
- List of Michigan constitutional amendment votes from 1966-2008
- Citizens Research Council of Michigan State Ballot Proposals
 |
State of Michigan Lansing (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
Footnotes
- ↑ Citizens Research Council of Michigan, "State Ballot Proposals," accessed May 21, 2022
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Michigan Legislature, "The Social Welfare Act (excerpt) Act 280 of 1939," accessed May 31, 2022
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedtext - ↑ Digital Michigan News, "5 Proposals on November ballot," accessed May 21, 2022
- ↑ Citizens Research Council of Michigan, "State Ballot proposals," accessed May 21, 2022
- ↑ Michigan Legislature, "The Social Welfare Act (excerpt) Act 280 of 1939," accessed May 31, 2022
