7 prosecutors to appeals court: Your abortion ruling means nothing to us
Court ruling or not, seven Michigan prosecutors say they are sticking to their guns when it comes to the abortion issue: They won't prosecute these cases.
That was their response to Monday’s Michigan Court of Appeals decision, which says prosecutors can file charges under the state's 1931 law that makes abortion a crime in Michigan except to save the life of the mother.
The 91-year-old ban had been blocked in May by a judge, but the appeals court says it doesn't apply to prosecutors — seven of whom have vowed not to enforce the law. All are Democrats and maintain they "cannot and will not support criminalizing reproductive freedom or creating unsafe, untenable situations for health care providers and those who seek abortions in our communities.”
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"We have supported Governor Whitmer’s litigation efforts to guarantee the right to reproductive freedom. And we will continue to fight, in court, to protect the right to safe and legal abortion in Michigan," the seven prosecutors said Monday in a joint statement. "In the interim, however, we reiterate that we will not use our offices’ scarce resources to prosecute the exercise of reproductive freedom. Instead, as these issues continue to play out in court, we will remain focused on the prosecution of serious crimes."
The seven prosecutors opposed to the 1931 abortion ban are:
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald
Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeffrey S. Getting
Ingham County Prosecutor Carol A. Siemon
Marquette County Prosecutor Matthew J. Wiese
Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton
National abortion rights were ended in June when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down 1973's landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion, and kicked the issue back to the states.
Some Republican prosecutors say they will enforce 1931 law
In Michigan, some Republican prosecutors, including Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido, have said they plan to follow the law and uphold the ban, which means doctors there could be charged with a felony. Republican prosecutors in Kent and Jackson counties also have said they plan to enforce the abortion ban.
“If a report is presented to this office, we will review it like we do any other report of possible criminal behavior,” Kent County Prosecutor Christopher Becker said in a statement Monday. “We will make the decision to charge, or not to charge, based on the facts presented in the report and the applicable Michigan law.”
Ultimately, the Michigan Supreme Court will likely decide the constitutionality of the 1931 abortion ban and whether Michiganders have a constitutional right to an abortion. There is also a movement, through a ballot proposal, to change the state constitution to expressly include the right to an abortion.
Associated Press contributed.
Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan abortion ruling: 7 prosecutors vow to ignore appeals court
