After two days of witness testimony from the state’s chief medical officer, the abortion experts, and providers, an Oakland County Court judge blocked prosecutors in the county from enforcing the 1931 abortion ban in Michigan for the foreseeable future.
Oakland County Judge Jacob Cunningham said during his ruling Friday that the court couldn’t be more aware of the harm to the body of women if not the injunction isn’t issued.
Michigan triggered the 1931 law, which bans abortion in all instances except the life of the mother after the US Supreme Court decided to overturn Roe v. Wade. Issuing a preliminary injunction, Judge Elizabeth Gleicher retroactively blocked the dormant ban from going into effect in May.
Earlier this month, Michigan’s Court of Appeals ruled that county prosecutors are not covered by a May order and cannot enforce the prohibition following the fall of Roe v. Wade.
The court later said that some county prosecutors could charge providers with a felony since the preliminary injunction only applies to the attorney general’s office.
Hours after the Aug. 1 appeals court decision and at request from Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s attorneys, Cunningham had filed a restraining order against county prosecutors.
Republican prosecutors in Kent, Jackson and Macomb counties pointed out that they should be able to enforce the 1931 law despite the fact that the majority of prosecutors in counties with abortion clinics have said they will not enforce the ban.
The two GOP county prosecutors are already planning an appeal, David Kallman, the attorney representing them, has said, stressing that judge Cunningham ignored all of the clear legal errors and problems in the case simply because it is about abortion.
A total of 753,759 citizens of Michigan signed in July the ballot initiative seeking to enshrine abortion rights into the state’s constitution, which is expected to ultimately decide the status of abortion access in Michigan.
The state’s Board of Canvassers is to decide on the final approval of the amendment for the November ballot.
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