Rep. Jaime Churches Says She Supports Women’s Reproductive Rights in Michigan

State Representative Jaime Churches, an educator and community advocate representing Michigan's 27th House District, says her priority is to safeguard reproductive rights and access to health care for women in Michigan.

“I will advocate and protect a woman’s right to choose,” says Rep. Churches on her website. Rep. Churches proposes that “[w]e should work to accelerate reform to identify innovative technologies, care models, and business models to improve health care services for women across races, ethnicities, ages, and socioeconomic backgrounds.” Rep. Churches was previously endorsed by NARAL Pro-Choice America, the country’s leading abortion advocacy organization. 

The Republican candidate for House District 27 is Rylee Linting. Linting, who is the Youth Vice Chair for the Michigan Republican party, posted on social media about her attendance at an anti-abortion rally last year and has liked a Twitter post about defunding Planned Parenthood. Linting has also been endorsed by Right to Life of Michigan PAC, an organization that requires its endorsed candidates to support abortion bans, even in the case of rape or incest.

After the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, women across the country no longer had a constitutional right to abortion. This led to abortion bans in roughly half the states. The Michigan Republican party called the overturning of Roe. v. Wade a “huge win for life and state rights” and a “cause for celebration.”

After Roe v. Wade was overturned, Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban could have taken effect. A majority of Republican legislators voted against repealing the abortion ban, while Democratic legislators voted in favor of repeal. In April 2023, with ballot initiative Proposition 3, Governor Gretchen Whitmer officially repealed the 1931 abortion ban in Michigan. 

Note: this article has been updated to reflect the results of the August 6 primary.