By Katrenia Busch
UNIVERSITY CENTER – Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Delta College welcomes Attorney General Dana Nessel for a roundtable discussion.
The Post Roe v. Wade: Implications for the Supreme Court Decision in Michigan is a deliberative dialogue held on Sept. 27 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Delta College Commons. All students and faculty are invited, and those attending will participate in a round table discussion with an opportunity for each table to speak.
For those unable to make it in person, the event will be broadcast virtually at Delta’s Midland and Saginaw locations.
Mark Balawender, Delta College philosophy professor, is the moderator for the interactive audience-panel discussion. Topics include the constitutional context of the court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the status and enforcement of Michigan’s abortion law, and options for women facing crisis pregnancies.
Delta College professors Ryan Petersen, Lisa Lawrason, Christina Miller-Bellow, and Merci Danielson, the coordinator for Young Life, are expected to be at the event and serve as panelists.
This political forum is part of an ongoing series that assembles a panel of experts to speak on issues of public concern.
Millions of Michiganders lost the national right to legal abortions when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade on June 24. While abortions are still legal in Michigan, they can change at any time if a temporary injunction blocking the enforcement of a state ban is lifted or removed.
Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a statement in April regarding efforts to preserve abortion rights in Michigan.
“In 2018, when I campaigned to be Michigan Attorney General, I did so knowing the fate of Roe v. Wade was at stake,” Nessel said. “Unenforced and antiquated pre-Roe abortion bans and laws, like the 1931 Michigan statute criminalizing abortion, could become de facto state law if Roe is overturned.”
According to Nessel, she does not plan to charge anyone under the law. It is unclear whether law enforcement at the local level will test the court of claims’ injunction.
Gov. Whitmer filed a motion in June urging the court to take her lawsuit to protect abortion in Michigan immediately.
“We need to clarify that under Michigan law, access to abortion is not only legal but constitutionally protected,” Whitmer said. “The urgency of the moment is clear–the Michigan court must act now.”
The deliberative dialogue at this upcoming event is intended to help attendees develop better-informed opinions, practice civil dialogue, and find common ground.
For more information on the political forum, contact Lisa Lawrason at 989-686-9509.
