Abortion motivates, divides East Lansing voters

Abortion was a key issue driving many East Lansing voters to the polls Tuesday.

The ballot includes a proposal to amend Michigan’s constitution to protect reproductive rights, including abortion. The measure, which appears as Proposal 3, would overturn a 1931 Michigan law banning abortion and offer state protections in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion nationwide.

“I voted to protect women’s health and women’s rights for myself, my roommates and all my girlfriends,” said Nikki Beechie, a junior at Michigan State University who voted at Martin Luther Chapel on Tuesday morning.

East Lansing resident Eric Vogel, a senior software developer, said abortion is among the topics that he cares about in this year’s election. Vogel, whose wife is pregnant, said he opposes late-term abortions because the fetus may be fully developed and able to live outside the womb.

“That’s why I’m for the most part against abortion, except if it’s going to harm the mother’s health,” he said.

He said he expects the vote over Proposal 3 to be divided.

“So I am waiting to hear what happens with that,” he said.

Calvin Dowker, a mathematics freshman at MSU, said he voted yes on Proposal 3 because he supports women’s rights to abortion. He said he wants to people he cares about, including his mother, sister and girlfriend.

Dowker said several other issues also were key, including inflation and opposing candidates who may not accept election results, “but my main reason for coming out to vote was definitely Proposal 3.”

State worker Jennifer Ferguson said it’s important women have control over with their bodies. She wants to see people be able to choose given that they have the medical advancements and technology for women.

“So to me, that’s No. 1,” said Ferguson, who voted at Hannah Community Center.

For psychology sophomore Isabelle Gramlich, 19, Tuesday’s election was less about partisan politics and more about the abortion issue.

“I’m not really geared toward one party or the other; I’m kind of independent right now,” said psychology sophomore Isabelle Gramlich, 19. “But for this election, Proposal 3 definitely geared me towards a certain way.”

Devin Davidson, a sophomore nursing major, felt the same way.

“I’m not like a really political person, but the proposals are a big thing for me right now,” Davidson said. “So that’s like one reason why I’m voting, because the proposals are something that are really going to affect Michigan right now.”

Davidson said it’s important to vote because so many women have fought that right over generations.

“We have to vote for our beliefs, and you know whether you’re Democrat or Republican or Libertarian or anything, you know, you have to vote for who you want to vote for,” she said. “That’s what we fought for.”

MSU senior Samantha Sebestyen said abortion rights are main concern this year.

“It’s my body and I wanted to be able to vote strongly for that,” Sebesteyan said. “I think most women are standing up for that this year.”

Senior Grace Vander Hart, 22, said Proposal 3 is important for her because the result will decide down which of two roads the state will go.

“We can go back in time or the future,” Vander Hart said. “The governor’s race is important because it matters who is making decisions for our state, big decisions and little decisions.”

Kianna Clark, a criminal justice major, agreed.

“The human right to do whatever you want with your body is really important to me,” Clark said.

That how freshman Lyric Pingilley, 18, said she feels too.

“I think that it’s a human right to be able to have an abortion, so I think that Proposal 3 is really important to vote for, because it’s not just about women’s rights, I think it’s more about human rights and our civil rights,” Pingilley said.

But sophomore Maya Beech said she doesn’t support Proposal 3.

“I don’t like the idea of it,” Beech said. “Religiously, it’s not with my beliefs. I will probably vote no against it.”

Mackenize Dekker, Mallory LaPlante, Sophia Plantz and Caesar Roundtree contributed to this report.