Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and several Democratic lawmakers said Tuesday they will introduce legislation this week that will ensure access to abortion for Michigan women.

The Reproductive Health Care Act would repeal existing laws that prohibit or restrict access to abortion.

"In states across the nation, we’ve seen relentless attacks on women’s health," said state Rep. Kristy Pagan, D-Canton. "We must be proactive in upholding health care access for women in Michigan."

The bills are largely symbolic, though, at this point. The measures are going to be difficult, if not impossible, to adopt in a Legislature that is currently controlled by Republicans, all of whom oppose abortion. Many of the measures would require a two-thirds majority because they would repeal voter-approved initiatives or constitutional amendments that restrict access to abortion.

More:'We should be terrified': What Michigan women should know if abortion becomes illegal

More:Abortion under fire in Michigan: 7 bills to know about

Just because it's hard, doesn't mean you don't fight back, said Whitmer.

"We are acutely aware of how gerrymandered this Legislature is and that this is an uphill battle, but that doesn't mean you don't fight it," Whitmer said. "It's important that we continue to push legislation like this and use every tool at our disposal to protect a woman's right to choose."

In Michigan, abortion is legal through 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The bills would:

Repeal a 1931 law that prohibits doctors from performing an abortion.

Remove regulations that require abortion clinics to operate like free-standing surgical centers.

Remove the requirement that minors have parental consent before getting an abortion.

Remove barriers from health care providers, such as Planned Parenthood, from receiving state and federal funding.

Lifts 24-hour waiting period from the time a person requests and is able to get an abortion.

Lift the ban on private insurance coverage for abortions

Remove barriers to accessing medically induced abortion through telemedicine.

The bills come at a time when Michigan Right to Life is gathering signatures for a ballot proposal that would ban an abortion procedure called dilation and evacuation that is typically used in the second trimester.

Right to Life of Michigan, the state's largest anti-abortion group, has been successful at petition drives to ban taxpayer-paid abortions, require parental consent for minors to get the procedure, require women to purchase an additional rider to their health insurance policy if they want coverage for an abortion, and ban a procedure used to end late-term pregnancies.

Barbara Listing, president of Right to Life, said she was disappointed with Whitmer for her abortion rights' advocacy.

"It’s no surprise that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants to follow New York’s lead and allow unlimited abortion-on-demand in Michigan," she said.. "We know most Michiganders do not support secret teen abortions, unregulated medical facilities, or abortions up to the point of birth."

A second petition drive from the Michigan Heartbeat Coalition is gathering signatures for a measure that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is typically about six weeks, when many women don't know that they're pregnant.

Those efforts are being driven by abortion opponents who are emboldened by a new, more conservative U.S. Supreme Court that is expected to hear several cases that would further restrict access to abortion. The goal for abortion opponents is to ultimately have the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that legalized a woman's constitutional right to an abortion.

In the last few years, several states have enacted bills to protect access to abortion, including Illinois, Rhode Island, Vermont, New York and Oregon.

But more states have enacted laws that restrict access to abortion. Oklahoma has banned medication-induced abortions and 17 states have banned the use of telemedicine to prescribe abortion medication; 36 other states require parental consent for minors to get an abortion; 26 states require women to get an ultrasound before an abortion; 22 states, including Michigan, require physicians to offer the woman a chance to view an image of their ultrasound and hear the fetal heartbeat; 34 states prohibit state funding for abortions; 22 states prohibit insurance coverage for abortions for public employees, and 10 other states prohibit private insurance from offering abortion coverage.

The U.S. Supreme Court has three abortion-related cases pending before it, and has said it will hear a case from Louisiana that requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles of their offices.

The other two cases before the court:

An Alabama law similar to the bills being considered in Michigan that bans the abortion procedure known as dilation and evacuation

An Indiana law that bans abortions for reasons of gender, race or medical anomaly, such as Down syndrome, and requires that fetal remains be either buried or cremated.

Many other cases — about 250 bills have been introduced in 41 states that would restrict access to abortions, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a Washington D.C.-based group that tracks abortion policy and advocates for abortion rights — are making their way through the federal court system now.

Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4430, kgray99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal