A Michigan Republican legislative leader is drawing criticism from Democrats for likening abortion to slavery.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey told Hillsdale College's radio station last week that allowing abortion to occur "at all" is the "scourge of our country now today."
"In my mind it's comparable, and people are going to be very upset when I say this, it is comparable to the scourge that we endured when we still had slavery in this country," the business owner from Clarklake said after being asked about Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's support for newly introduced legislation that would undo abortion restrictions.
His remarks were condemned by Democratic Sen. Erika Geiss and others on Tuesday, the Senate's first day of session since the comments came to light on Friday.
"It is incredibly out of touch for him to have made such incredibly insensitive remarks," said Geiss, who is black. "I don't think comparing something that is a reproductive health care choice for one in four women — that is really no one's business except between her and her physician — has any place in a conversation about slavery."
Geiss, of Taylor, said she felt it was important to speak out. She called on Shirkey to apologize.
He did not speak with reporters Tuesday but said in the radio interview that he would not apologize for his anti-abortion stance. His spokeswoman said he had no regrets and believes there is no "middle ground" on the abortion issue.
"The majority leader would never want to offend anybody with his words, but he believes that the divisive nature of (abortion) is analogous to the comparison that he made," said Amber McCann. "The comparison that he was making was to do with the impact of the issue on the country and its ability to divide people — nothing to do with the choice, the act, the procedure but rather the fervor having the potential to divide the country in the same manner."
Democrats last month introduced bills in the GOP-controlled Legislature that would, among other things, provide a fundamental right to have an abortion before fetal viability or if the procedure is necessary to protect the pregnant woman's life or health.
Anti-abortion groups in Michigan have been circulating two veto-proof citizens' initiatives that — if enough signatures are gathered — could be enacted by Republican legislators over Whitmer's objections. One would ban the common second-trimester procedure known as dilation and evacuation, except if it would save the mother's life.
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April 25 – May 1, 2024
From clashes in Istanbul, to protests in Berlin, people around the world demonstrated on May Day.
Kenya, along with other parts of East Africa, has been overwhelmed by flooding.
The Olympic flame started its journey to France from Greece, sailing through the Corinth canal.
This gallery highlights some of the most compelling images made or published in the past week by The Associated Press from Europe and Africa. The selection was curated by AP photographer Armando Franca in Lisbon.
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Inter Milan's Marcus Thuram celebrates lying wrapped in a plastic sheet at the end of a Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Torino at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. Inter Milan had already clinched the Italian Serie A league title the week before. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, serves a ball to Mirra Andreeva, of Russia, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Smoke from pyrotechnics obscured the stadium as Monaco scored their side's first goal in the first few minutes during a French League One soccer match between Lyon and Monaco at the Groupama stadium in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
Icelandic horses are driven to their paddock for the first time in the season in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A young girl stands next to an eternal flame burning of the Unknown Soldier monument in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Police officers detain people who take part in a pro-Palestinians protest rally in Berlin, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Union members clash with Turkish anti riot police officers as they march during Labor Day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
A till operator packs old Zimbabwean dollar notes into a shopping basket as customers use them to buy groceries in a supermarket in Harare, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)
Customers have breakfast in a restaurant while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez appears on a television broadcast in Madrid, Spain, Monday, April 29, 2024. Sánchez says he will continue in office "even with more strength" after days of reflection. Sánchez shocked the country last week when he said he was taking five days off to think about his future after a court opened preliminary proceedings against his wife on corruption allegations. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
People celebrate King's Day on the canals of Amsterdam, Netherlands, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)77
Pope Francis is greeted by Gondoliers upon his arrival in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Belem, the three-masted sailing ship carrying the Olympic flame to France, is being towed through the Corinth canal in Corinth, Greece, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)
People gather on a bridge where a woman's body was retrieved, after floodwater washed away houses, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Riot police use a water cannon during an opposition protest against "the Russian law" near the Parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
People protest for human rights during a May Day demonstration in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
