Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said abortion procedures were “life-sustaining" healthcare for women, including during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We stopped elective surgeries here in Michigan,” Whitmer told former Obama adviser David Axelrod on his podcast. “Some people have tried to say that that type of a procedure is considered the same, and that’s ridiculous.”

“A woman’s healthcare, her whole future, her ability to decide if and when she starts a family is, is not an election, it is a fundamental to her life. It is life-sustaining, and it’s something that government should not be getting in the middle of," she added.

Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says abortion is “life-sustaining”https://t.co/yiMr8Xs85q pic.twitter.com/A7fnBZpZ3A — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 16, 2020

Whitmer has been at the center of controversy in recent weeks for her strict lockdown measures designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Thousands of Michiganders gathered outside the state Capitol in Lansing this week in a protest dubbed “Operation Gridlock,” demanding an easing of restrictions to let people get back to work.

Several sheriffs in Michigan announced they would refuse to enforce some of Whitmer's executive orders.