“As attorney general, I have statewide jurisdiction,” Nessel began. “And I ran on a platform of understanding that likely during the course of my term,
Roe v. Wade would be overturned. And this incredibly draconian and strict 1931 law would criminalize abortion in this state with virtually no exceptions – no exception for rape, for incest, no exception for medical emergencies. And understanding that the lives of our 2.2 million women who are of childbearing age in this state, their lives would be at risk. I refuse to enforce this draconian law that will endanger their lives and put in jeopardy the health, safety and welfare of the lives of each and every woman in the state of Michigan.”
Nessel told Todd that the law does not make exceptions for medical emergencies, but
Politico reported in April: “The Michigan law bans abortion at any stage of pregnancy,
with an exception for the health of a woman but not for cases of rape or incest.” [emphasis added]
Todd then asked about a particular provision in the law banning the sale of abortifacient drugs. Nessel claimed that the law would not only punish abortion and abortion medication providers, but also the women who get them: “we’re talking about not just throwing providers and anybody who works with a provider, under aiding and abetting theories, in prison, but also women themselves, who procured abortion through abortion medication,” she said.