Abortion remains legal in Michigan

Jun. 25—TRAVERSE CITY — The U.S. Supreme Court released their ruling for Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade.

Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett all voted in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade. Their colleagues, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan voted to keep the ruling in place. Chief Justice John Roberts filed an opinion concurring with the majority's judgment to uphold Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, but stated he would not have overturned Roe v. Wade.

Abortion is no longer a constitutional right. As many as 26 states could move to ban abortion in the coming weeks and months.

Michigan's status

Abortion remains legal in Michigan following the decision from the Supreme Court.

"Everything remains the same as it was yesterday, but just for now," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a press conference Friday.

In May, the Michigan Court of Claims granted a temporary injunction against a 1931 Michigan law that would ban nearly all abortions, including in cases of rape and incest, in response to a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood of Michigan and abortion provider Dr. Sarah Wallett.{p class="p1"}Court of Claims Judge Elizabeth Gleicher ruled that law likely violates Michigan's constitution. Her May 17 ruling cited U.S. Supreme Court precedent that gives state courts the power to interpret a state's constitution more broadly, and to protect more individual liberties. That's even if the nation's highest court rules otherwise on similar language in the U.S. Constitution.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's team said she is actively trying to take action to permanently protect legal abortion in Michigan.

"With today's decision, Michigan's antiquated 1931 law banning abortion without exceptions for rape or incest and criminalizing doctors and nurses who provide reproductive care takes effect," Whitmer said in a statement. "For now, a Michigan court has put a temporary hold on the law, but that decision is not final, and has already been challenged."

According to the Michigan Penal Code Act 328 of 1931, Section 750.14, anyone who administers a substance to or uses an instrument on a pregnant woman with the intent to procure a miscarriage is guilty of a felony, unless it was necessary to preserve the woman's life, and if the pregnant woman dies as a result they would then be guilty of manslaughter. It has no exceptions in cases of rape and incest.

"That remains the law in Michigan right now. The 1931 law is unenforceable at the moment," Nessel said. "In the event the Court of Appeals, or the Michigan Supreme Court, were to overturn (the injunction), then the 1931 law would spring back into effect."

On April 7, Whitmer filed a lawsuit using her executive authority to ask the Michigan Supreme Court to immediately resolve whether the state's Constitution protects the rights to an abortion. Previous reporting states her lawsuit claims the 1931 abortion ban violates the due process clause of Michigan's Constitution, which provides a right to privacy and bodily autonomy.

The lawsuit also states the previous 1931 law is unconstitutional because the state's Constitution Equal Protection Clause forbids gender discrimination.

The same day, Planned Parenthood of Michigan and abortion provider and Chief Medical Officer at Planned Parenthood of Michigan Dr. Sarah Wallett, filed a court order asking to restrain the state attorney general from prosecuting the ban against abortion providers.

"Michiganders have the right to privacy, bodily integrity, and civil rights protections," Deborah Belle, lead counsel for Planned Parenthood said in a press release on April 7. "All of which encompass accessing basic reproductive health care, including abortion."

In granting a preliminary injunction, Gleicher also cited other past rulings finding pregnancy is a question of bodily autonomy, as is the right to refuse medical treatment. She cited another just-overturned nationwide abortion case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, in concluding the right to seek medical treatment, namely abortion, is also protected.

"Forced pregnancy, and the concomitant compulsion to endure medical and psychological risks accompanying it, contravene the right to make autonomous medical decisions," Gleicher wrote.

The judge allowed Republicans in the state Legislature to intervene in the lawsuit nearly a month after her decision, court records show. Nessel had previously declined to defend the dormant law.

The governor wrote an Executive Directive on May 24 that instructs all state departments and agencies not to cooperate with authorities from other states who want to prosecute women seeking legal abortion care, and also instructs departments to increase protections for reproductive health care.

"We need to clarify that under Michigan law, access to abortion is not only legal, but constitutionally protected," Whitmer said. "I will fight like hell to protect every Michiganders' right to make decisions about their own body with advice of a medical professional they trust."

On Friday, Whitmer signed a brief asking the Michigan Supreme Court to expedite their decision regarding her lawsuit. According to Nessel, the timeline of the case is ultimately in the hands of the court.

"If we've learned anything, it's that all rulings by any court are temporary in nature," Nessel said.

Public opinion and ballot initiative

According to a January 2022 poll by WDIV/Detroit News, 67.3% of people in Michigan support Roe v. Wade, and 65.7% support repealing Michigan's 1931 law. The same poll also found more than 77 percent of Michiganders believe abortion should be a woman's decision.

Planned Parenthood of Michigan said in statement released Friday they anticipate a surge of patients seeking care and information in the wake of the Supreme Court decision.

"Here in Michigan, I'm working with our team of expert doctors, nurses and health care professionals to ensure we can provide care to as many patients as possible," Wallett said.

The Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan are currently working on the Reproductive Freedom For All ballot measure, which would put in place protections for abortion access in the Michigan constitution, according to Executive Director Nicole Wells Stallworth, who said the RFFA push has until July 11 to collect the 425,059 signatures needed to place the measure on the November ballot in Michigan.

Access

According to AbortionFinder.com, the nearest provider of surgical abortions to the Traverse City area has been the Women's Center of Saginaw and Flint, more than 120 miles away. Traverse City Planned Parenthood only provides the abortion pill, which can only be taken within the first nine weeks of a pregnancy.

The website currently lists 24 in-person abortion providers in Michigan.

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services recorded 30,074 reported induced abortions in 2021. Whitmer and Nessel have both said there are 2.2 million women of reproductive age currently living in Michigan.

Local response

Many in Michigan are celebrating the ruling as a win.

The Diocese of Gaylord released a statement in which the Rev. Jeffrey J. Walsh, bishop of Gaylord, called on the community of northern Michigan to "realize the tremendous harm" caused by the decision in Roe v. Wade and celebrated Friday's decision.

"Our prayers and efforts to build a culture of life have been heard and we rejoice," Walsh said in the statement.

The 11 Catholic bishops in Michigan also released a joint statement similar to Walsh's that acknowledged the fear that has grown in the U.S. since the leak of Alito's draft opinion and included a call to focus efforts on providing women support through pregnancy and parenthood.

"The pro-life movement must redouble its efforts to ensure every woman has the support she needs throughout her pregnancy and beyond, whether she chooses to parent or create an adoption plan," the statement reads.

Michigan House Rep. John Roth, R-Traverse City, also supports the Supreme Court's ruling.

"I do agree with the decision," Roth said. "Not on the morality of the decision, but on the legal part of it."

Roth said it should be up to individual states to decide their own abortion laws and the Michigan legislature has asked to be a part of the decision in the future.

"What I heard from people that wanted to overturn it, were that they wanted to bring it back to the state, and let the state decide," Roth said. "They didn't think that the Supreme Court should've made a blanket statement."

Roth also said he takes this issue very seriously. As a father to two daughters, he said he can't imagine not having them be born.

"It's my moral belief that I am not a supporter of pro-choice," Roth said.

Gleicher's assignment to the case was controversial even before her ruling. She briefly represented Planned Parenthood in the 1990s as a volunteer attorney and donated money to the organization as well, according to the Detroit Free Press. The state's judicial rules allow such donations, while warning against activities that would call into question a judge's ability to serve the role. The court also previously defended Gleicher as impartial.

Some Republican lawmakers, including Roth, argued she should have been removed from the case due to her previous involvement with Planned Parenthood.

According to a statement by state Sen. Wayne Schmidt, R-Traverse City, officials are currently working together to understand what this ruling means for Michigan women.

"As a father and a husband, I both cherish the sanctity of life and support the right of a woman who finds herself in a painfully difficult situation where she is considering an abortion," Schmidt said in the statement, adding he hopes Michigan and the rest of the country can come together to find common ground to support women and families.

Monica Evans, head of Women's March TC, said she is planning a protest but it will likely not be for another few weeks because she wants to make sure there is time to organize and notify people. She said she's never felt more helpless or more scared in her time as an activist but she also feels a greater duty to protest and advocate against the ruling.

"It's a really sad day for women's rights," Evans said. "Of course we expected it, but when the ruling actually came in our hearts just sank."

Possible greater impact

The message in concurring opinions may allude to a greater impact on U.S. citizens.

Justice Clarence Thomas in a concurring opinion wrote the court should also reconsider three other cases: Griswold v. Connecticut, which grants married couples the right to buy and use contraceptives; Lawrence v. Texas, which ruled criminal punishment for sodomy is unconstitutional; and Obergefell v. Hodges, which grants the legal right to marriage for same-sex couples.

Anna Dituri, secretary and advocacy chair at Up North Pride, called Thomas' concurring opinion "flawed" and "chilling."

"The Supreme Court has shown that it can now not only grant civil liberties, but also take them away on a political whim," Dituri said. "To safeguard all of our liberties from attack, the time for advocacy is now."

She said the ruling impacts LGBTQ+ communities as well, those who can get pregnant and those seeking gender-affirming care.

"This means that any health care clinic providing abortions and gender-affirming care will be even more stressed than they previously have been," Dituri said. "This means that already marginalized communities will be even more isolated and impacted."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.