10 | NOVEMBER 24 • 2022

PURELY COMMENTARY

guest column
The Passage of Proposal 3
N

ational Council of Jewish
Women, Michigan lauds the
hard work, the coalition build-
ing and the educational outreach in
which Michiganders engaged in order to
pass Proposal 3, making
Michigan the first state in
the United States to pass
a citizen-initiated consti-
tutional amendment that
guarantees the right to abor-
tion and other reproductive
health services.
Michigan voters are to be
praised for cutting through
the disinformation some
candidates spewed and the
misleading signage that was
on display throughout the
state, and for recognizing
the real threat that failure
to pass the Reproductive
Freedom for All ballot proposal posed.
With a law from 1931 on the books,
failure to pass Prop 3 would result in the
possible enforcement of a law that banned
almost all abortions, with no exception for
rape or incest, and made abortion a felo-
ny. Of particular concern to Jews was the
disregard paid to the diversity on how dif-
ferent religions, and even denominations

within a religion, define when life begins.
In the spring, lawsuits were filed by Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer with the Michigan
Supreme Court and Planned Parenthood
of Michigan with the Michigan Court of
Claims to determine if abortion is consti-
tutionally protected in Michigan.
But Michiganders could not and did
not wait. People from across our state gave
thousands of hours of their time to fund-
raise, build coalitions, educate neighbor-
hood and affinity groups, knock on doors,
and make phone calls — all to protect a
right that Americans have possessed for
almost 50 years. It became their mission to
cement the right to reproductive health-
care, bodily autonomy and religious free-
dom for themselves and for future genera-
tions. They succeeded!
We know that there is more work to be
done. The threat of a federal law banning
abortion still looms.
The same fight must now be won on the

national level to pass legislation to protect
an individual’s right to make reproduc-
tive decisions and to secure access to all
healthcare services, including abortion.
We recognize this difficult path, but
we have a re-energized population that
has seen what grassroots advocacy can
achieve. The threat to losing a freedom
that many have possessed during their
childbearing years and educating their
young women about the direct affect on
their lives, led to an increase in women
registering and voting in these midterms.
There was also a noted increase in voter
turnout among young voters, with both
students from the University of Michigan
and Michigan State University being cited
as having a large number of students going
to the polls.
We have learned that ballot initia-
tives are a useful tool where a gap exists
between what voters want and what state
legislatures are willing to do. It is an
important lesson, and one we intend to
keep in the forefront of the minds of our
elected officials, and one on which we are
ready to act when necessary.

Linda Levy and Lynn Lieberman are state policy

advocates for the National Council of Jewish Women,

Michigan.

Linda Levy

Lynn
Lieberman

Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving Day, a shaynem dahnk we’ll say
far alle gutte zakhn, nisht ein, nisht tzvay.

Far shayninke einiklakh


far ingalakh un maydalakh,
Un alle gutte zakhn coming your way.

A shaynem dahnk: a nice thank you
far alle gutte zakhn: for all the good things
Nisht ein, nisht tzvay: not one, not two
Far Shayninke einiklakh: for beautiful grandkids
Far ingalakh un maydalakh: for little boys and girls
un alle gutte zakhn: and all good things.

By Rachel Kapen

Yiddish Limerick

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