(WWJ) – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is urging the Michigan Supreme Court to take up her lawsuit to decide whether Michigan’s state constitution protects the right to abortion.
Whitmer sent a notice to the court on Monday in hopes they will “immediately consider” the case. The governor says she sent the notice as county prosecutors and health providers across the state misunderstood the current legal status of abortion in Michigan.
Abortion currently remains legal in Michigan, thanks to an injunction granted last month in a suit brought by Planned Parenthood against the state’s 1931 law criminalizing abortion.
“But in the wake of the decision in Dobbs overturning Roe, certain county prosecutors and health providers have expressed confusion about the current legal status of abortion in Michigan,” Whitmer said, per a press release. “This only underscores the need for the Michigan Supreme Court to act now, which is why I sent a notice to the court urging them to immediately take up my lawsuit and decide if access to abortion is protected under the Michigan Constitution.”
Whitmer says taking up her case would “end any confusion and ensure that Michiganders, health providers, and prosecutors understand the law.”
The lawsuit is asking the Michigan Supreme Court to recognize a constitutional right to an abortion under the Due Process Clause of the Michigan Constitution and asks the court to stop enforcement of the 1931 Michigan abortion ban.
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Attorney General Dana Nessel, meanwhile, provided some clarity as well on Monday.
“As it currently stands, providing abortion care in Michigan cannot be prosecuted, and I encourage those with appointments to move forward as scheduled and consult with their doctors,” Nessel said. “Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling last week, I remain committed to ensuring a woman’s right to choose and will continue to fight against every attempt to limit access to care. This includes ensuring Michiganders are properly informed regarding the current state court battle that is far from over.”
Back on May 17, Judge Elizabeth Gleicher issued a preliminary injunction in Planned Parenthood of Michigan v Attorney General of the State of Michigan. She determined the plaintiffs were “likely to succeed on the merit of their claim that the right to bodily integrity protected by the due process clause of the Michigan Constitution encompasses a woman’s right to choose to terminate a pregnancy through an abortion.”
Gleicher also determined that without an injunction, Planned Parenthood and their patients would “face a serious danger of irreparable harm if prevented from accessing abortion services.”
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