Michigan lawmaker offers 'God's chicken' to 'celebrate' leaked Supreme Court opinion

Lansing — Michigan Rep. Steve Carra, a Republican from Three Rivers, offered his colleagues food from Chick-fil-A, which he described as "God's chicken," Tuesday morning to "celebrate" a leaked draft opinion showing the U.S. Supreme Court initially voted to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.

The leaked opinion document, first reported by Politico, indicated the court could soon revive a 1931 law in Michigan that criminalizes abortion.

Carra sent his email to all Democrats and Republicans in the state House, according to an image reviewed by The Detroit News. The message included a photo of Carra standing in front of a sign on his office door that said, "Baby Lives Matter."

“Our office has God’s chicken (and coffee) ... to celebrate the protection of babies’ lives. Will go fast! #babylivesmatter," Carra wrote in the email.

In a separate Facebook post, Carra added that he was celebrating "the great victory from last night."

The draft majority opinion circulated within the court in February was reported by Politico Monday evening.

The opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, said the 1973 ruling, Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed women constitutional protections for abortion rights, was "egregiously wrong from the start."

Democrats, who oppose the court's leaked draft opinion, blasted Carra's email to Michigan House employees Tuesday morning.

"Women will die because of this," wrote Abdul El-Sayed, a 2018 Democratic candidate for governor. "And this dude's serving buttered biscuits."

Rep. Mari Manoogian, D-Birmingham, said Carra had used a government email system to antagonize and perpetrate an "own the libs" stunt.

"From my perspective, this was clearly done to be a stunt, to be upsetting not just to Democratic representatives but their staffers. It's really inappropriate behavior," Manoogian said.

cmauger@detroitnews.com

Staff Writers Melissa Nann Burke and Hayley Harding contributed.