News Release: MCC Responds to Comments from Governor Whitmer That Abortion is “Life-Sustaining”

(Lansing, Mich.)—During an appearance on The Axe Files with David Axelrod podcast Thursday, April 16th Governor Gretchen Whitmer was asked by the host about her to decision to allow abortion facilities to remain open during the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” Executive Order. In response, Governor Whitmer stated that abortion is “life sustaining.” Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC) responded to the governor’s comments by stating that her understanding of life issues has become “bifurcated and confusing,” and is asking for the governor to pause and reflect on “the wounds her comments have created for countless people in this state and elsewhere.” MCC’s full statement is as follows:

“Governor Whitmer’s comment that abortion is ‘life-sustaining’ comes as no surprise; for most if not all of her political career the governor has carried the banner for abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy. Her comments indicate how easily candidates for higher office are pushed into a dark corner by the abortion industry. Joe Biden’s abdication of his forty-year support for the Hyde Amendment no doubt paved the way.

“Michigan Catholic Conference has expressed its appreciation to the governor for her efforts to keep residents of the state safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her comments on the podcast, however, clarify how bifurcated and confusing her understanding of human life has become.

“Residents across the state have been forced to delay their non-emergency medical procedures due to the pandemic. Yet the governor insists that elective abortions continue, as she believes the procedure ‘sustains life.’ The logic is removed from reality: night is not day; war is not peace. How can Governor Whitmer on the one hand prohibit medical surgeries and the growth of food through gardening yet refer to a procedure that intentionally destroys a developing human person as ‘life sustaining?’

“We call on Governor Whitmer to pause and reflect on the wounds her comments have created for countless people in this state and elsewhere. We all need the governor’s sole focus right now to be on the needs of the people of Michigan, not the demands of the abortion industry.”

Michigan Catholic Conference is the official public policy voice of the Catholic Church in this state.

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