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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