Michigan Judge Elizabeth Gleicher has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the enforcement of an abortion ban in the state that was originally implemented before the U.S. Supreme Court protected the procedure with its Roe v. Wade ruling. Although the ban hasn’t been in force for decades, it threatened to become legally active once again if the Supreme Court overturns its Roe ruling.
A recently leaked draft majority opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court indicated the Justices might be preparing to undertake that move, no matter the potentially dangerous health consequences for millions of Americans. Eliminating the federal protections established by the Roe ruling would mean that access to abortion would suddenly become dependent on a patchwork of state measures restricting or allowing the procedure.
A Michigan judge has issued a preliminary injunction against the state's 1931 abortion ban — barring its enforcement should Roe v. Wade be struck down in federal court. The injunction is an early victory for Planned Parenthood.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 18, 2022
Planned Parenthood, the multi-faceted healthcare organization that also prominently deals with abortion, helped bring litigation in which Gleicher ruled. “Planned Parenthood’s complaint preserves a privacy claim and also avers that the statute is unconstitutional because it violate the rights to liberty… bodily integrity, and equal protection guaranteed by the Michigan Constitution and the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and is unconstitutionally vague,” Gleicher summarized. The original ban, from 1931, makes providing most abortions a felony with no exceptions for situations involving rape or incest, although there’s an exception for saving a pregnant individual’s life. That’s similar to how Florida Republicans put together a 15-week abortion ban recently imposed in their state in the apparent hope that the Supreme Court goes through with allowing further restrictions on abortion — although the Florida law also includes an exception for preventing serious injury to the pregnant person.
BREAKING: Michigan court stops enforcement of state's 1931 near-total abortion ban, which could go back into effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned. It's an early court win for Planned Parenthood.
— David Eggert (@DavidEggert00) May 17, 2022
“The court finds a strong likelihood that the plaintiffs will prevail on the merits of their constitutional challenge… A preliminary injunction furthers the public interest, allowing the court to make a full ruling on the merits of the case without subjecting the plaintiffs and their patients to the impact of a total ban on abortion services in this state,” the judge in this case explained. There are other states with harsh restrictions on abortion that would go into effect if the Roe decision is undone — besides Michigan, eight states have pre-Roe abortion bans on the books, and more than a dozen (including several from that group of eight) have passed measures that would automatically ban most abortions if Roe is overturned.
Annihilating Roe means women with the least will suffer the most. That’s flat wrong.
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) May 16, 2022
Gleicher’s conclusions would protect Michigan residents if the Supreme Court decides to go with the draft majority opinion or something like it. Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer filed a separate lawsuit targeting the nearly century-old abortion ban that’s technically still on the books, and after Gleicher reached her present conclusions, Whitmer said the “opinion from the Michigan Court of Claims is clear and sends the message that Michigan’s 1931 law banning abortion, even in cases of rape or incest, should not go into effect even if Roe is overturned… It will help ensure that Michigan remains a place where women have freedom and control over their own bodies.” Planned Parenthood, meanwhile, indicated they intend to continue with their litigation until the ban is permanently blocked.
States with impending abortion restrictions should provide:
-Universal health care for mothers & babies
-Access to contraception
-Affordable child care
-Paid parental leaveInstead, they offer the least support to mothers and children in the country. https://t.co/dL7lBphoI5
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) May 16, 2022