Lansing, Michigan - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has officially repealed a 1931 abortion ban in the state of Michigan.

On Wednesday, Michigan Gov. Whitmer signed a bill into law that repeals a 1931 abortion ban, successfully safeguarding abortion and women's healthcare access across the state.

The governor signed the legislation into law while surrounded by Michigan abortion advocates, doctors, and lawmakers.

"This is a long overdue step, and it proves that when we keep fighting to protect everyone’s ability to make their own decisions about their bodies, we can win," Gov. Whitmer said.

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The repealed law banned most abortions except those used to "preserve the life" of the pregnant person. It also included criminal repercussions for health providers, putting many of those working in women's health in a peculiar place following the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, which had affirmed federal abortion rights for roughly 50 years.

Before Whitmer repealed the law, it was a four-year felony to aid in an abortion.

Speaking of the newly repealed law per The 19th News, Michigan Rep. Laurie Pohutsky said: "It was created by men in power to control and stifle the independence of women, plain and simple."

The state's Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes echoed Pohutsky's frustrations with the repealed abortion ban.

"This 1931 law, it’s been sitting here, sort of ominously staring at us, waiting for the moment when the Supreme Court did the awful thing they did,” Barnes said. "This is really how you show that Democrats deliver. We’ve been talking about doing this work, making sure that we can protect the rights of women in this state, for a very long time. And finally, today, the governor gets to sign the law that does that."

Michigan Dems have been working to repeal the ban before gaining power in state government last November.