DETROIT – As of Tuesday, Michigan’s 1931 law criminalizing abortion will not go into effect if the Supreme Court overturns Roe V. Wade.
Lawyers for Right to Life Michigan say it’s a rogue decision by the Michigan Court of Claims and vows litigation in response.
The Michigan Court of Claims judge said that she found Planned Parenthood of Michigan likely to be successful in the case, so she granted a preliminary injunction which means that the 1931 law will not go into effect while the case proceeds through the legal system.
Read: Michigan court blocks enforcement of state’s 1931 abortion ban if Roe is overturned
When she made the ruling, Judge Elizabeth Gleicher became the target of criticism by attorneys for Right to Life Michigan on Tuesday, May 17.
“Even more extraordinary, the same judge makes annual contributions to Planned Parenthood and, in fact, indirectly subsidizing the very litigation which she is now deciding,” said ADF Attorney John Bursch.
Planned Parenthood of Michigan argues that the 1931 law is unconstitutional as it criminalizes abortion.
“We filed this lawsuit on April 7 and asked the court to block this law because it is unconstitutionally vague,” said Dr. Sarah Wallett of Planned Parenthood. “It violates the rights to liberty, bodily integrity, equal protection, and privacy under the Michigan Constitution and state civil rights laws.”
Judge Gleicher said in a statement:
“If a woman’s right to bodily integrity is to have any real meaning, it must incorporate her right to make decisions about the health events most likely to change the course of her life, pregnancy, and childbirth.”
Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit is one of two lawsuits in Michigan right now on the abortion issue. The other is from the governor asking the Michigan Supreme Court to weigh in on whether abortion is a right under the due process clause of the Michigan constitution.
Lawyers for Right to Life Michigan say they plan to file their own litigation and should have something ready to go by the end of the week.
