“Mike Rogers says he won’t try to roll back abortion rights if elected to Michigan’s open Senate seat in 2024—but his record of opposing reproductive freedom while he was in Congress suggests otherwise.”

LANSING – The Gander reported today that after spending decades — including his 14 years in Congress — railing against reproductive rights and lobbying for a nationwide abortion ban, Mike Rogers is now attempting to erase his dangerous anti-abortion record. 

The story noted that Rogers anti-choice record is extensive: Rogers backed a near-total abortion ban in 2010, praised the Dobbs decision and vowed to back a ban on federal funding for abortion, and told reporters that if he lived in Michigan last year, he would’ve voted against Proposal 3 to codify reproductive freedom in the state Constitution. During his time in Congress, Rogers also co-sponsored and voted for several anti-choice bills that would’ve banned and criminalized abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest 

Read The Gander’s reporting on Mike Rogers’ history of supporting dangerous abortion bans with no exceptions for rape or incest below: 

The Gander: Mike Rogers tries to distance Senate campaign from his anti-abortion record

• “About two months into his campaign, Rogers appears to have deployed a new strategy for winning over Michigan voters: Hoping Michiganders forget about his 14 years in Congress, and the decades that Rogers spent railing against reproductive rights and lobbying for a nationwide abortion ban. 
• But Rogers didn’t tell diners at the restaurant why they should believe his newfound stance on reproductive rights, particularly after he spent much of his career trying to rip those rights away.
• Rogers has long made clear that he opposes reproductive freedom in Michigan—including voicing support for a near-total abortion ban in response to an MLive candidate survey in 2010, where he clearly stated ‘abortions should be legal only to prevent the death of the mother.’
• More recently, after Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion care was overturned last year, Rogers reportedly told the Daily Mining Gazette that he supported the decision—and vowed to back additional restrictions to care, such as a ‘full ban on federal funding for abortion.’
• And had he lived in Michigan instead of Florida last year, Rogers told reporters that he would’ve voted against Proposal 3 to cement the right to reproductive freedom—including abortion care—into the state Constitution, which passed with about 56% of the vote last year.
• Rogers also told voters at a town hall event in New Hampshire this summer that he has ‘been a pro-life candidate my entire career.’ And when asked specifically about whether he would support a national abortion ban if elected to Congress, he replied: ‘I’d have to look at it.’

• His congressional record is also littered with votes for anti-abortion bills. In 2012, Rogers voted for a bill that would’ve banned most abortions (without exceptions for rape or incest). And about one year later, he co-sponsored legislation with US Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) that sought to ban and criminalize abortions across the country.
• Rogers later voted in support of another anti-abortion bill in 2013 that aimed to ban abortions after 20 weeks, with limited exceptions. 
• During his time in Congress, Rogers also voted for other anti-abortion bills—including legislation to force patients to receive a misinformation-filled ‘Unborn Child Pain Awareness Brochure’ before getting an abortion.
• Rogers’ record on opposing reproductive freedom was enough to earn him a nearly flawless candidate score from The Family Research Council, which is designated as an extremist, anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and masquerades as an ‘educational organization’ in an attempt to steer voters toward anti-abortion candidates.
• The GOP has not won a Senate race in Michigan since 1994. In recent weeks, Rogers has ramped up his effort to pick up support among Michigan’s far-right Republicans—including by defending the conduct of former President Donald Trump, who is facing 91 state and federal felony charges in four jurisdictions for a variety of alleged crimes.

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