A candidate for the state legislature has related her personal story of terminating a pregnancy to reiterate her support of Proposal 3.
Democrat Christina Kafkakis is running against incumbent Republican Rep. Ann Bollin to represent the 49th State House District that includes the City of Brighton, Brighton Township, Green Oak Township in Livingston County, and the City of Wixom and Walled Lake with portions of Lyon Township and Commerce Township in Oakland County.
In a release titled “Why I Support Prop 3: Pregnancy Termination Saved My Life,” Kafkakis discusses the personal tragedy she and her husband went through in 2006 when she was expecting twins but suffered a pre-term, premature rupture of membranes (pPROM) that resulted in the stillbirth of the first twin, named Angelina Nicole.
She said that while medical providers did everything to keep she and the remaining twin healthy, infection set in fast and she became septic.
“The next day, my husband and I had an impossible decision to make,” said Kafkakis. “Knowing she was unlikely to survive, we induced the delivery of Twin B (our Gabriella Marie), knowing that her death would save my life. Days earlier, we had created their baby registry. Now, we were planning their funeral.”
Kafkakis said losing her twins reshaped her life, and put her on a new path.
“Whether it’s advocating for women during their pregnancies, or talking to voters about my story … and how Michigan’s 1931 law might have prevented me from surviving, and going on to have our four living children,” she said.
Kafkakis said the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade and end nearly 50 years of precedent, Michigan is looking at a possible return to pre-World War II legislation that outlaws abortion, except for one exception when the woman’s life is at risk.
“Who decides the severity of risk?” she asks. “A panel of doctors must convene – to decide how much mortal danger justifies termination – or the providers risk being prosecuted.”
Kafkakis days that under the 1931 law, there are no exceptions for rape or incest, making it more difficult for women who’ve had an ectopic pregnancy, cancer, or miscarriage to get expert medical care.
“We cannot let that happen,” she said.
Kafkakis added that what was of even more concern to her was misinformation about the proposal, pointing to the October edition of the Catholic Diocese of Lansing’s Faith Magazine, in which Bishop Earl Boyea wrote, “… the scope of Proposal 3 is not limited to the issue of abortion. It will also likely prohibit parental consent rights if your child wishes to pursue – or is being pressured into pursuing – medical procedures or chemical treatments intended to change the outward appearance of his or her biological sex … can inflict irreversible physiological damage coupled with long-term psychological, emotional and spiritual damage upon an already vulnerable young person.”
Kafkakis said that assertion was “simply FALSE” and noted the proposed amendment’s language, which states, “Every individual has a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which entails the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management, and infertility care.”
Kafkakis said that doctors and healthcare providers “overwhelmingly” support Prop 3 as evidenced by the more than 1,500 Michigan healthcare professionals from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine who submitted an open letter to voters asking them to vote YES on Prop 3.
“It’s easy for people to say that they wouldn’t do something if they haven’t had to make that decision themselves,” concluded Kafkakis. “Hindsight is always 20/20. I urge you to vote to keep access to abortion legal in Michigan – vote Yes on Prop 3. Someone you love may need it, like I did.”
