LANSING − Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she sees the abortion proposal on Michigan’s Nov. 8 ballot as not just a major advance for women’s rights but a potential economic development tool that would benefit all Michiganders.
If the measure passes and she wins reelection, “I want to go into anti-choice states and start recruiting talent, start recruiting headquarters,” Whitmer told the Free Press Editorial Board on Thursday.
“I want to walk into Indiana and Ohio and eat their lunch,” Whitmer said, speaking via a Microsoft Teams connection from a Lansing law office.
Critics scoffed at Whitmer’s comments Friday, but there are links between state laws and social policies on the one hand and talent attraction and retention on the other.
In August, two of the largest employers headquartered in Indiana — Eli Lilly and Cummins — criticized a near-total abortion ban Gov. Eric Holcomb signed into law, saying it would make it more difficult to attract skilled employees to their companies and the state, according to The Indianapolis Star.
“We are deeply concerned about how this law impacts our people and impedes our ability to attract and retain a diverse workforce in Indiana — concerns that we have voiced to legislators,” Cummins, a company specializing in diesel and alternative fuel engines and generators, said in a statement. “As we continue to grow our footprint with a focus on selecting communities that align with our values and business goals, this law will be considered in our decision-making process.”
Whitmer specifically cited Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical company with close to 11,000 employees at its Indianapolis headquarters, as a firm she would like to lure aware from the Hoosier state, into Michigan.
The company has said it would honor all current commitments in Indiana, but seek growth opportunities elsewhere.
Whitmer said Eli Lilly is just one example of poaching opportunities for Michigan, should it constitutionally enshrine the right to an abortion. She also cited “female engineering students at Purdue,” in West Lafayette, Indiana.
“This is a huge opportunity for us,” Whitmer said.
The “Reproductive Freedom for All” constitutional amendment, known as Proposal 3, would spell out an explicit right to abortion in the Michigan Constitution.
Proponents of the measure say it would resuscitate rights that were eliminated when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision in June.
More:Dixon, Whitmer working out of different playbooks as gubernatorial race gets underway
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Opponents say it goes too far and would eliminate requirements for parental consent and safety regulations and allow abortions up to the time of birth. Proponents dispute those claims, though the full ramifications of the amendment will partly be dependent on judicial interpretations and whatever accompanying legislation is passed by lawmakers and signed into law.
The amendment says the state may regulate abortion after fetal viability, but may not “prohibit an abortion that, in the professional judgment of an attending health care professional, is medically indicated to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual.”
Christen Pollo, a spokeswoman for Citizens to Support Michigan Women and Children, a coalition opposing the ballot proposal, said the abortion proposal “is not an economic plan and does nothing to address the pressing issues on voters’ minds, like inflation.” Voters “are too savvy to be fooled by the preposterous claim that stripping their parental rights and clinic safety standards is a path to prosperity,” Pollo said.
Tudor Dixon, the Republican candidate for governor, favors an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the pregnant person. Dixon has said that an abortion to save the life of the pregnant person is the only exception she would support. Whitmer “is proving once again that she has no economic development strategy to attract companies and job creators,” Dixon said Friday in a statement issued by spokeswoman Sara Broadwater. “Pretending abortion is a serious economic development opportunity is a cynical attempt by a failed governor to put lipstick on a pig.”
Jeffrey Miron, vice president for research at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, and director of graduate and undergraduate studies in the Department of Economics at Harvard University, said it is difficult to say whether Whitmer’s approach could have a significant impact as an economic development strategy.
The comments from Eli Lilly — and similar comments from other companies — could be tied to other motivations, such as winning tax concessions and luring financial relocation incentives from other states, Miron said.
“We need to see how many companies actually move before thinking it’s going to have a major impact,” he said.
The approach, he said, seems partly based on the assumption that the sort of people who are good for economic development favor abortion rights, Miron said. That may be true, but it certainly is not universally true, as many successful entrepreneurs oppose such measures, he said.
Also, if Indiana has strict anti-abortion laws and neighboring Michigan has easy access to abortion, that could mitigate the net effect of the disparity, since Indiana residents would be able to travel to Michigan to obtain abortions, he said.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.
