Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer said during an interview on Thursday that abortion services needed to be provided during the COVID-19 pandemic because they are “life-sustaining.”

Whitmer made the remarks on David Axelrod’s “Axe Files” podcast while discussing other states that have sought to shut down abortions during the shutdown.

“As we speak, in Texas and a couple of other states, I think Ohio may be another, the state has asked to suspend abortion services as part of this COVID-19 protocol,” Axelrod said. “This is probably gonna go to the Supreme Court. What is your reaction to that? You’re a governor, you have to make these decisions as well, there are other procedures that have been suspended.”

“You know, we stopped elective surgeries here in Michigan, and some people have tried to say that that type of a procedure is considered the same, and that’s ridiculous,” Whitmer responded. “You know, a woman’s health care, her whole future, her ability to decide if and when she starts a family is not an election, it is a fundamental to her life.”

Whitmer continued, “It is life-sustaining, and it’s something that government should not be getting in the middle of.”

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