Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette About 30 people locally joined demonstrators at about 450 locations throughout the U.S. as part of the sixth annual Women’s March Saturday.

HOUGHTON — One month before Election Day, marchers in Houghton joined approximately 450 other rallies throughout the country Saturday as part of the sixth annual Women’s March. 

Always prominent at the marches, reproductive rights took on an even larger role this year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June in Dobbs v. Jackson, which overturned Roe v. Wade and left abortion up to individual states.

In Michigan, abortions are legal after state court orders barred enforcement of an 1931 state law that only allowed abortions when the mother’s life is in danger.

Voters will decide whether to add abortion rights to the state constitution on Nov. 8. The state Supreme Court approved adding Proposal 3 to the November ballot after rejecting a challenge based on the lack of spacing between words in the petition circulated to residents.

“In my opinion, it’s a health issue, and I really think we can’t have people taking a right we’ve had for almost 50 years,” said Linda Murto of L’Anse. “It’s not just aborting babies because of rape or incest. The mother’s life so often is in question when you have to have a procedure like an abortion. It’s got to be a medical decision between a woman and her doctor.”

The proposal would enshrine a right to reproductive freedom except in the case of a “compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means,” according to the proposal. The state would be able to regulate abortions after fetal viability — the point when a fetus is judged to be able to survive outside the womb without medical care — but could not bar abortions judged to be necessary for the pregnant person’s life, or physical and mental health. 

It would also prevent the state from taking action against someone who had an abortion, miscarriage or stillbirth, or any medical provider who assisted them. 

Supporters of the bill say the bill would add constitutional protections keeping the state where it was before June’s Supreme Court decision. Detractors worry the bill could also take away other laws passed after Roe v. Wade, such as parental consent laws.

Michele Southerland of Laurium said the issue had been at the forefront for her since the 2016 election and President Donald Trump’s subsequent appointment of three Supreme Court justices, all of whom were in the 6-3 majority in Dobbs. 

“Now we’re feeling the repercussions of that,” she said. “We need to keep fighting until we have reproductive freedom once again.”

Noah Hatch, a volunteer for Bob Lorinser’s campaign for the 1st Congressional District, spoke before Saturday’s march. He said Lorinser supported women’s right to healthcare. He also supports measures that would reduce the need for abortion, such as access to contraceptives or sex education for teenagers, Hatch said.  

“Things like that can reduce the need for an abortion, but women should still have the right to choose,” he said. 

Showing up at protests like the Women’s March is important, said Kyrra Morin, a third-year environmental engineering student at Michigan Tech. She also encouraged people to vote in November and to fund services such as Planned Parenthood. 

Morin said she came to the march to show that women deserve rights and an equal voice. 

“There are so many women that are going to be affected by things like Roe v. Wade being overturned, or just so many women who are affected by laws that suppress women’s rights,” she said. “Women die, families are ripped apart. Kids die and are hurt because we don’t support them equally.”