LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer again called on the Michigan Supreme Court to make a decision on whether the state’s 1931 abortion ban should remain state law.
The new filing told the state’s high court “time is of the essence,” adding “there is no reason for the court to delay its consideration of these issues of vital state importance.”
Whitmer has previously asked the court to reach over lower courts to take the case before a landmark decision on access to abortion at the federal level is made by the U.S. Supreme Court in the coming weeks.
Read: Michigan court blocks enforcement of state’s 1931 abortion ban if Roe is overturned
Whitmer’s new filing came the same day the state Court of Appeals moved to speed up the process of the lawsuit over whether the state should keep in place the 90-year-old. The court opened a briefing schedule with a deadline of July 5. Previously briefs, which are how both sides communicate with the court, would have been on a timeline that would have ended more than 100 days from a recent ruling placing a temporary injunction on the 1931 ban.
Both developments come as those on either side of the debate have begun more forceful pushes. This week, Michigan Right to Life and other anti-abortion groups outlined their case against a proposed amendment making abortion access state law during a presentation.
“I want every Michigander to know how egregious and dangerous this anything-goes abortion amendment is for our state,” a spokesperson for Citizens to Support Michigan Women and Children, Christen Pollo said during the presentation.
On Thursday, Democrats called Republican opposition to the proposed amendment a “full-scale assault” saying the end of abortion access would be a slippery slope.
“I cannot stress enough how this will not stop with just abortion access,” Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) said during a virtual press conference on Thursday.
So far, there have not been any appellate briefs filed with the court under the new, expedited schedule. The State Supreme Court has not given an indication about whether it would be making a ruling of its own either.
Read: Michigan Supreme Court seeks more from Whitmer about abortion ban challenge