LANSING, Michigan (LifeSiteNews) — Under the leadership of radically pro-abortion Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan’s marketing arm is reportedly running ads in conservative states attempting to attract new residents by promising abortion and acceptance of LGBT lifestyles.
The Great Lakes State’s public-private agency, called the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), launched the campaign in an effort to confront the state’s ongoing population slump. The campaign consists of three ads informing residents in six Republican-led states that “all are welcome” in Michigan.
Run in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, the ads include one featuring a lesbian couple and the caption: “Discover the benefits of living in a state that protects your rights.” Another shows three college-aged young women walking together with the caption: “Enjoy your right to reproductive freedom [sic].” A third shows a black family with the caption: “Enjoy the freedom to be who you are.”
The messages come as many Republican-led states have enacted laws to protect the preborn, safeguard female-only sports and spaces from men who claim to be women, protect gender-confused children against transgender mutilation, and cull Marxist, inaccurate racial curricula from classrooms.
RELATED: Gretchen Whitmer repeals Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban, calls protecting the unborn ‘sickening’
“We are constantly hearing from companies that are considering where to invest,” spokesman Otie McKinley said in a statement on behalf of MEDC promoting the ad campaign.
“Among the factors they consider is access to talent and the ability to recruit new talent,” McKinley said. “Efforts like this is [sic] part of a concerted effort to attract talent and business to Michigan by highlighting a business-friendly environment that also protects people’s rights and freedoms.”
It remains to be seen whether Michigan’s effort to ply new potential residents with promises of homosexuality and abortion will be effective.
According to census bureau data, Michigan suffered the second-slowest rate of population growth in the U.S. from 2010 to 2020, UpNorthLive pointed out, and its population has continued to decline. Meanwhile, conservative states like Florida, Idaho, and Montana have seen rapid population growth in recent years as many people have abandoned flailing leftist states like California and New York.
In addition, Live Action pointed to observations that Michigan may not have given much thought to the true impact of its new population growth strategy.
“Gov. Whitmer is literally running ads in other states encouraging women to move to Michigan to get an abortion,” Tori Sachs, former executive director of the group Michigan Freedom Fund, posted on X. “It’s literally the opposite of a pro-population growth strategy.”
Meanwhile, Whitmer’s administration isn’t the first to launch a pro-abortion ad campaign in an effort to lure new residents from conservative states.
Late last year, California’s pro-abortion Gov. Gavin Newsom opted to put up billboards in pro-life states promoting the ease with which women can kill their babies in California.
READ: Newsom launches ad campaign in pro-life states using Scripture to promote abortions in California
Paid for by Newsom’s re-election campaign, the signs contained messages informing pregnant women that their pro-life state “doesn’t own your body” and directing them to California’s abortion website.
Critics blasted Newsom’s effort as “evil” and “shameful,” particularly as some signs quoted Scripture to justify the murder of preborn babies.