A judge in Michigan ruled Friday that county prosecutors cannot enforce an abortion ban dating from 1931, granting the preliminary injunction sought by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. This means prosecutors will not be allowed to file criminal charges against medical professionals providing abortion services, as permitted in the nearly century-old ban.
Michigan courts have been the primary stage for the state’s abortion battle since the U.S. Supreme Court tossed federal protections for abortion on June 24, 2022. In May, following the leak of the Alito decision, a judge moved to block enforcement of the old law, but the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed that decision on Aug. 1. That’s left providers in an uncertain legal territory. Jill Habig, president and founder of the Public Rights Project, which is working with seven Michigan prosecutors to overturn the ban, told The 19th that on Aug. 1, “literally due to some conflicting court opinions in the span of one day, abortion was legal at breakfast, illegal at lunch and legal again at dinner.”
“The harm to the body of women and people capable of pregnancy in not issuing the injunction could not be more real, clear, present and dangerous to the court,” Oakland County Judge Jacob Cunningham said Friday. “This court finds it is overwhelmingly in the public’s interest to let the people of the great state of Michigan decide this matter at the ballot box, assuming the constitutional amendment initiative is on the ballot on Nov. 8,” Cunningham added during the Friday hearing.
Winning in Kansas was amazing, but abortion is still on the ballot in Michigan and Kentucky. Can you chip in $3 to protect abortion rights in those states?
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That’s when the voters will decide whether to get rid of the old law for good, with a ballot measure to establish abortion rights in the state constitution. ”This proposal will affirm that every person has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which involves the right to make and carry out decisions without political interference about all matters relating to pregnancy, including birth control, abortion, prenatal care, and childbirth,” the coalition promoting the amendment explains. Reproductive Freedom for All, ACLU of Michigan, Michigan Voices, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan are organizing the effort.
“Specifically, this measure will ensure that all Michiganders have the right to safe and respectful care during birthing, everyone has the right to use temporary or permanent birth control, everyone has the right to continue or end a pregnancy pre-viability, and no one can be punished for having a miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion,” the coalition added.
“While today is welcome news, my team and I will remain vigilant in protecting reproductive freedom,” Whitmer said in a statement following Friday’s ruling. “The sad reality is that a number of leaders in the state are actively looking for ways to make sure Michigan’s draconian 1931 law, which bans abortion for all women, doesn’t include exceptions for rape or incest, and criminalizes nurses and doctors who offer reproductive care, is the law of the land. I am proud of my team today, but our work continues.”
The state canvassing board will meet on Aug. 31 to certify that the organizers have qualified for the ballot. As of the end of July, they had collected and submitted a record number of signatures: 753,759 when the state requires 425,059 to qualify for the ballot.
In the meantime, Republican county prosecutors say they will appeal. That makes the ballot measure even more critical. The voters are going to have to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution, for Michiganders and for all the people in surrounding states where abortion bans are in place. We’ve had one momentous win on the issue in Kansas. That bodes well for Michigan, but nothing can be taken for granted.
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