Peoples Campaign for Choice.

In February 1987, Right to Life of Michigan, Inc. gathered signatures on petitions to initiate legislation to end Medicaid funding of abortions in Michigan in cases where the mother's life was not at risk. It submitted the signatures to the Secretary of State for validation and the Michigan legislature was then given the option to ignore, pass, or amend the initiative. The initiative could not be vetoed. The legislature chose to amend the legislation to assist state employees, but did not include an exception for victims of rape and incest. Because the pro-choice governor, James Blanchard, could not veto the legislation, P.A. 59 was passed into law.

The Planned Parenthood League, Inc. established a coalition of over forty political, social and religious organizations that supported the right to choose, called the Peoples Campaign for Choice (PCC), whose goal it became to defeat the legislation. In order to comply with campaign finance laws, PCC set up a separate organization to coordinate its fundraising, the Coalition to Protect Michigan Lives (CPML). PCC also set up an education fund to help finance the campaign with large grants.

Late in 1987, PCC began its own petition drive to get the new law on the November 1988 ballot so the people of the state could vote on the ban of Medicaid funding. Meanwhile, it also filed a court action in an attempt to prevent P.A. 59 from taking effect before the people had a chance to vote. PCC argued that the ban was an attack on the poor, mostly blacks; that the non-exception for rape and incest was unjust; that this was a step toward overruling Roe v. Wade (1973); and that it was cheaper to the taxpayer in the longrun to fund the abortion rather than to raise the child on crime-ridden welfare streets.

PCC succeeded in getting the referendum on the ballot and it was titled Proposal A. Proposal A asked voters whether or not they wanted the new law which banned Medicaid funding of abortions to remain on the books. If it passed, the law would take effect; if it failed (the goal of PCC) the law would be overturned.

PCC faced an uphill battle from the beginning. Similar laws had been passed in several other states, and despite predictions from pro-choice groups, welfare spending had not increased in these states. Most importantly, Right to Life of Michigan, Inc. was very well-funded and well-organized, whereas PCC faced coalition, consulting and especially fundraising problems due to competition for donations with the presidential and U.S. Senate campaigns. PCC was still short $3/4 million in funds for its media campaign in October 1988. Nevertheless, it managed to gain strength in the polls toward November 1988, and launched a fairly-successful emergency fundraising drive, but PCC failed to get its message out.

Proposal A passed with a majority of over 470,000 votes on November 8, 1988.

From the guide to the Peoples Campaign for Choice Records, 1987-1988, (Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan)