Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer defends abortions as ‘life-sustaining’ healthcare during pandemic

Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said abortion procedures were “life-sustaining” healthcare for women, including during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We stopped elective surgeries here in Michigan,” Whitmer told former Obama adviser David Axelrod on his podcast. “Some people have tried to say that that type of a procedure is considered the same, and that’s ridiculous.”

“A woman’s healthcare, her whole future, her ability to decide if and when she starts a family is, is not an election, it is a fundamental to her life. It is life-sustaining, and it’s something that government should not be getting in the middle of,” she added.

Whitmer has been at the center of controversy in recent weeks for her strict lockdown measures designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Thousands of Michiganders gathered outside the state Capitol in Lansing this week in a protest dubbed “Operation Gridlock,” demanding an easing of restrictions to let people get back to work.

Several sheriffs in Michigan announced they would refuse to enforce some of Whitmer’s executive orders.

“We write today to inform the public for our respective counties of our opposition to some of Governor Whitmer’s executive orders. While we understand her desire to protect the public, we question some restrictions that she has imposed as overstepping her executive authority,” read a letter signed by the sheriffs.

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