Capitol News

Following the endorsement of Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a group known for supporting a national abortion ban, the Michigan Democratic Party has criticized Rogers’ record on reproductive rights.

Curtis Hertel, Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, issued a statement in response to the announcement that Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America plans to spend millions in support of Rogers’ campaign. The group has previously stated it will only endorse candidates who back a national abortion ban.

“Mike Rogers has tried desperately to hide from his extreme anti-abortion record, but this endorsement exposes him for the fraud that he is. This is the same Mike Rogers who spent decades fighting to ban abortion with no exceptions, who called Roe v. Wade a ‘travesty,’ and who said he would have voted against Michigan’s Proposal 3 that protects reproductive rights,” Hertel said.

He added: “Dark money anti-abortion extremists don’t spend millions of dollars on candidates who won’t deliver for their agenda. Michigan women and families deserve better than Mike Rogers, who will be beholden to out-of-state special interests trying to strip away their constitutional right to reproductive freedom.”

Rogers’ political history includes opposition to Roe v. Wade and support for additional restrictions after its overturning. He also indicated he would have voted against Michigan’s Proposal 3, which aimed to secure reproductive freedom in state law. During his time in Congress, Rogers backed legislation that could have led to nationwide abortion bans without exceptions and supported personhood measures potentially affecting access to abortion and IVF.

In 2023, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America established an endorsement policy requiring Senate candidates to support national abortion bans and included the “Heartbeat Protection Act Of 2021”—a six-week national abortion ban—on its congressional scorecard.