NEWS & VIEWS
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
COURTESY PHOTO
The Incision
On the frontlines of the fight for reproductive rights By Abdul El-Sayed
We’ve known the Roe v. Wade decision w as com ing for a m onth now . In fact, w e sh oul d h av e know n it w as com ing ev en before th en. W e sh oul d h av e know n it w as com ing w h en S en. M itch M cC onnel l subv erted th e U .S . C onstitution to deny P resident O bam a a S uprem e C ourt N om inee. W e sh oul d h av e know n it w as com ing w h en th at seat w ent to J ustice N eil G orsuch . W e sh oul d h av e know n it w as com ing w h en th ey ram m ed J ustice B rett K av anaug h into a seat. A nd w e sh oul d h av e know n it w h en th ey nom inated J ustice A m y Coney arrett to fill the seat left by the untim el y passing of J ustice R uth B ader G insburg . W e sh oul d h av e know n it al l al ong . B ut until th e oth er sh oe dropped l ast m onth , I didn’t real iz e h ow m uch I h ad been deny ing w h at w as obv ious before our ey es. P ondering th e ful l scope of th e im pl ications of th e S uprem e C ourt’s obscene rul ing , I’m real iz ing j ust h ow m any facets of l ife th is w il l destroy for m il l ions of peopl e. It’s easy , w h en y our j ob h as y ou sitting in robes in a steril e
court room to th ink th at th e issues y ou’re deciding upon are steril e, too — th at th ey ex ist onl y in th e abstract counterfactual s y ou m anipul ate in y our m ind. B ut h av ing trained in cl inics and h ospital s to treat real peopl e in real pl aces, one appreciates j ust h ow m uch m essier l ife real l y is. M ost peopl e don’t real iz e th ey ’re preg nant for w eeks or ev en m onth s after th ey ’v e conceiv ed. D ecisions about v iabil ity rel y on probabil istic ev idence th at’s easil y secondg uessed by an ex pert w itness in court. P eopl e w h o are desperate to h av e ch il dren rel y on in v itro fertil iz ation, w h ich inv ol v es creating sev eral em bry os th e destruction of w h ich th is rul ing coul d conj ure as abortion. M ich ig an’s A ttorney G eneral , D ana N essel , saw al l of th is com ing in its raw est, m ost com pl ex perm utations. S h e w arned us about it. S h e and I ran for o ce at the same time, and I was honored to read her o cial nomination as th e D em ocratic candidate back in 201 8 . D uring h er cam paig n, sh e rel eased an ad in w h ich sh e w as h ol ding a h ang er in a prov erbial back al l ey , tal king about
8 July 6-12, 2022 | metrotimes.com
h ow critical it w as th at sh e be el ected to protect M ich ig anders sh oul d Roe fal l . S h e w as w idel y panned by establ ish m ents on both sides of th e aisl e as al arm ist. et here we are. She finds herself now as one of th e l ast l ines of defense in a state w ith a 1 9 3 1 abortion ban th at renders aiding and abetting an abortion in any w ay a fel ony . S o today , I w anted to bring y ou h er perspectiv e from an interv iew I recorded for m y podcast America Dissected. W e transcribed and edited it for cl arity : Abdul: A.G. Nessel, thank you so much for taking the time to join us — particularly in this moment when it feels like crisis upon crisis, none more urgent than the fall of Roe. Can you tell us what the fall of Roe means to you? Dana: I had been predicting this, as you know, for many years — especially in the last month. We were certain that this was going to happen based on the leak from the court. But on Friday, I really can’t even
describe the feeling that I had. The hollowness and desperation, knowing that this fundamental right that I’ve enjoyed my entire life swept out from beneath us. I don’t think it’s a secret that I am not a woman of reproductive age any longer. But I can’t imagine during the years that I was knowing that, abortion would be not just unavailable in Michigan, but a felony. When you ran you cut an ad, which a lot of folks in the sort of establishment across both parties scoffed at. You shot the ad in a back alley, holding a coat hanger to highlight the possibility that this might happen and that if you were elected, you’d be in a position to have to defend the right to choose. How does it feel that you’re now in that position where it’ll fall on your shoulder to protect abortion rights for Michiganders? I don’t feel great about it. Obviously, I wish that this was a turn of events that never occurred. It was so clear and obvious to me that it wasn’t a
