Judge Strikes Down 1931 Michigan Law Criminalizing Abortion

September 8, 2022by Ed White, Associated Press
Judge Strikes Down 1931 Michigan Law Criminalizing Abortion
Abortion rights protesters attend a rally outside the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on June 24, 2022, following the United States Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

DETROIT (AP) — A judge on Wednesday struck down Michigan’s 1931 anti-abortion law, months after suspending it, the latest development over abortion rights in a state where the issue is being argued in courtrooms and, possibly, at the ballot box.

The law, which was long dormant before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, violates the Michigan Constitution, said Judge Elizabeth Gleicher.

“A law denying safe, routine medical care not only denies women of their ability to control their bodies and their lives — it denies them of their dignity,” Gleicher of the Court of Claims wrote. “Michigan’s Constitution forbids this violation of due process.”

The decision comes as the Michigan Supreme Court is considering whether to place a proposed amendment on the Nov. 8 ballot that would add abortion rights to the state constitution. A Friday deadline is looming.

Supporters submitted more than 700,000 signatures, easily clearing the threshold. But a tie vote by the Board of State Canvassers over spacing issues on the petition has kept it off the ballot so far.

In the case handled by Gleicher, the 1931 law makes it a crime to perform an abortion unless the mother’s life is in danger.

The judge said the law “compels motherhood” and prevents a woman from determining the “shape of her present and future life.”

The law “forces a pregnant woman to forgo her reproductive choices and to instead serve as `an involuntary vessel entitled to no more respect than other forms of collectively owned property,’” Gleicher wrote, quoting constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe.

The law was suspended in May with an injunction, following a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood of Michigan. Gleicher said her latest decision applies to all state and local prosecutors. An appeal by the Republican-controlled Legislature is possible.

“The House is reviewing the ruling,” spokesman Gideon D’Assandro said.

Gleicher acknowledged in July that she has been a regular donor to Planned Parenthood and gave $1,000 to the 2018 campaigns of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel, both Democrats who support abortion rights.

But that support wasn’t a reason to pass the case to another judge, said Gleicher, who also serves as chief judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals.

“Judges are presumed to be unbiased and impartial,” she said.

In a separate lawsuit, Whitmer has repeatedly asked the state Supreme Court to bypass lower courts and settle the status of the 1931 law. The court hasn’t decided whether to intervene.

“With our rights still hanging by a thread, the Michigan Supreme Court needs to provide certainty,” the governor said Wednesday.

A+
a-

In The News

Health

Voting

Abortion

Five Takeaways From the Abortion Pill Case Before US Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday did not appear ready to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone,... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday did not appear ready to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone, in a case that could have far-reaching implications for millions of American women and for scores of drugs regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. It's... Read More

Supreme Court Again Confronts Issue of Abortion, This Time Over Access to Widely Used Medication

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will again wade into the fractious issue of abortion this week when it hears... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will again wade into the fractious issue of abortion this week when it hears arguments over a medication used in the most common way to end a pregnancy, a case with profound implications for millions of women no matter where they... Read More

Nearly Eight in 10 AAPI Adults in US Think Abortion Should Be Legal, AP-NORC Poll Finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — With abortion rights poised to be one of the major issues in the 2024 election, a new poll shows that Asian... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — With abortion rights poised to be one of the major issues in the 2024 election, a new poll shows that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the United States are highly supportive of legal abortion, even in situations where the pregnant person wants an abortion... Read More

Trump Suggests He'd Support a National Ban on Abortions Around 15 Weeks of Pregnancy

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that he’d support a national ban on abortions around 15 weeks of pregnancy, voicing... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that he’d support a national ban on abortions around 15 weeks of pregnancy, voicing for the first time support for a specific limit on the procedure. The Republican former president has taken credit for striking down a federally guaranteed right... Read More

About as Many Abortions Happening in US Monthly as Before Roe Was Overturned, Report Finds

The number of abortions performed each month is about the same as before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and... Read More

The number of abortions performed each month is about the same as before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the nationwide right to abortion more than a year and a half ago, a new report finds. The latest edition of the #WeCount report conducted for... Read More

Mental Health Emerges as Dividing Line in Abortion Rights Initiatives Planned for State Ballots

CHICAGO (AP) — The weeks after Kaniya Harris found out she was pregnant were among the hardest in her life.... Read More

CHICAGO (AP) — The weeks after Kaniya Harris found out she was pregnant were among the hardest in her life. Final exams were fast approaching for the college junior. Her doctors told her she had an ovarian cyst, and the risk of ectopic pregnancy was high.... Read More

News From The Well
scroll top