Current:Home > ScamsMichigan's abortion ban is blocked for now -TradeGrid
Michigan's abortion ban is blocked for now
View
Date:2025-04-24 23:16:31
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
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- Masa, the key to tortillas and tamales, inspires an award-winning documentary series
- Cold Justice Sneak Peek: Investigators Attempt to Solve the 1992 Murder of Natasha Atchley
- 'To Name the Bigger Lie' is an investigation of the nature of truth
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- Take Your Skin’s Hydration to the Next Level With This $80 Deal on $214 Worth of Josie Maran Products
- Dominique Fishback is the actress with a thousand faces
- SAG Awards 2023 Red Carpet Fashion: See Every Look as the Stars Arrive
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- 'The Dos and Donuts of Love' is a delectably delightful, reality TV tale
Ranking
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Hundreds of Iranian schoolgirls targeted in mystery poisonings as supreme leader urges death penalty for unforgivable crime
- China dismisses reported U.S. concern over spying cargo cranes as overly paranoid
- Jennifer Coolidge Is a Total Blonde Bombshell With Retro Look at the 2023 SAG Awards
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- Sally Field Reminds Every School Why They Need a Drama Department at 2023 SAG Awards
- Ariana DeBose Pokes Fun at Her Viral Rap at SAG Awards 2023
- If you want to fix your own clothes, try this easy style of mending
Recommendation
Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
Bethenny Frankel Details Struggle With POTS Syndrome After Receiving Comments About Her Appearance
Cuba Gooding Jr. settles a civil sex abuse case just as trial was set to begin
Ukraine says if Russia tries to invade from Belarus again, this time, it's ready - with presents
A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
The Academy of American Poets names its first Latino head
Two new novels illustrate just how hard it is to find a foothold in America
'An Amerikan Family' traces the legacy of Tupac Shakur's influential family