Current:Home > InvestMichigan's abortion ban is blocked for now -FundPrime
Michigan's abortion ban is blocked for now
View
Date:2025-04-12 02:44:24
LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan judge on Friday blocked county prosecutors from enforcing the state's 1931 ban on abortion for the foreseeable future after two days of witness testimony from abortion experts, providers and the state's chief medical officer.
The ruling comes after the state Court of Appeals said earlier this month that county prosecutors were not covered by a May order and could enforce the prohibition following the fall of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court.
"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 during his ruling Friday.
David Kallman, an attorney representing two Republican county prosecutors, said an appeal is planned.
"The judge ignored all of the clear legal errors and problems in this case, it appears to me, simply because the issue is abortion," Kallman told The Associated Press following the hearing.
Cunningham had filed a restraining order against county prosecutors hours after the Aug. 1 appeals court decision and following a request from attorneys representing Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
While a majority of prosecutors in counties where there are abortion clinics have said they will not enforce the ban, Republican prosecutors in Kent, Jackson and Macomb counties have said they should be able to enforce the 1931 law.
Cunningham listened to arguments Wednesday and Thursday in Pontiac before granting the preliminary injunction, which is expected to keep abortion legal throughout the state until the Michigan Supreme Court or voters could decide in the fall.
In his ruling, Cunningham found all three of the state's witnesses "extremely credible" while dismissing testimony from the defense witnesses as "unhelpful and biased."
The 1931 law in Michigan, which was triggered after the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, bans abortion in all instances except the life of the mother. The dormant ban was retroactively blocked from going into effect in May when Judge Elizabeth Gleicher issued a preliminary injunction.
The state Court of Appeals later said that the preliminary injunction only applied to the attorney general's office, meaning that providers could get charged with a felony by some county prosecutors.
While Kallman said during closing arguments Thursday that granting a preliminary injunction isn't how laws should be changed, attorneys representing Whitmer argued that allowing county prosecutors to decide whether to enforce the 1931 ban would cause confusion.
"I'm relieved that everyone in this state knows that it doesn't matter what county you live in now, you are not as a provider going to be prosecuted," Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said following the ruling
A ballot initiative seeking to enshrine abortion rights into the state's constitution turned in 753,759 signatures in July and is expected to ultimately decide the status abortion access in Michigan. The amendment awaits final approval for the November ballot by the state's Board of Canvassers.
"This court finds it is overwhelmingly in the public's best interest to let the people of the great state of Michigan decide this matter at the ballot box," Cunningham said Friday.
The status of abortion in Michigan is expected to drastically impact the battleground state's November general election, where Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel, also a Democrat, have made abortion rights a centerpiece of their reelection campaigns.
"Absent this preliminary injunction, physicians face a very real threat of prosecution depending on where they practice," Nessel said in a statement issued following Friday's ruling.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- 'Nothing like this': National Guard rushes supplies to towns cut off by Helene
- Halle Bailey and DDG announce split: 'The best path forward for both of us'
- A massive strike at U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports has ended | The Excerpt
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Ranking NFL's stadiums from 1 to 30: What we love (and hate) about league's venues
- Kim Kardashian Defends Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez From Monsters Label, Calls for Prison Release
- Soul-searching and regret over unheeded warnings follow Helene’s destruction
- Intellectuals vs. The Internet
- 'Nation has your back,' President Biden says to Hurricane Helene victims | The Excerpt
Ranking
- North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
- The Fate of That '90s Show Revealed After Season 2
- On the road: Plenty of NBA teams mixing the grind of training camp with resort life
- Collapse of national security elites’ cyber firm leaves bitter wake
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- Why Andrew Garfield Doesn't Think He Wants Kids
- A crash saved a teenager whose car suddenly sped up to 120 mph in the rural Midwest
- How Taylor Swift Gave a Nod to Travis Kelce on National Boyfriend Day
Recommendation
Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
Who killed Cody Johnson? Parents demand answers in shooting of teen on Texas highway
Taylor Swift-themed guitar smashed by a Texas man is up for sale... again
Drew Barrymore Details Sexiest Kiss With Chloë Sevigny
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
Olympian Suni Lee Calls Out MyKayla Skinner's Put Down to Gymnastics Team
Dockworkers’ union suspend strike until Jan. 15 to allow time to negotiate new contract
College sports ‘fraternity’ jumping in to help athletes from schools impacted by Hurricane Helene