OAKLAND COUNTY (WWJ) - An Oakland County judge is set to make a ruling Friday morning on an injunction blocking a statewide ban on abortions.
Officials for the state are trying to delay the enforcement of Michigan's 1931 law that bans abortion, while multiple county prosecutors are arguing against the request, made by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer earlier this summer in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
Final arguments by both sides were presented on Thursday afternoon and Circuit Court Judge Jacob Cunningham said he will make an announ cement from the bench Friday at 10:30 a.m.
WWJ Legal Analyst Charlie Langton was present during Wednesday's hearing, which he said contained "wild arguments" from both sides of the issue.
Offering closing arguments for the state, Chief Deputy of the attorney general's office Christina Grossi called the 1931 law "one of the most draconian abortion laws in the country."
"It criminalizes abortion from the moment of pregnancy and there is no exception for rape, and there is no exception for incest and there is no exception for the health of the mother," Grossi said.
She said the statute is "incredibly vague" and it places providers in a "very, very difficult position."
Meanwhile, attorney David Kallman -- representing two county prosecutors arguing against the governor's request -- said he "understands the argument that they believe that this is gonna cause problems and it's harming women's health options and all those sorts of things."
"That's not the issue before the court," Kallman said. "It's irreparable harm to the governor. Where are these doctors who are performing abortions? They're not parties. Where's a pregnant mother coming in and saying 'I can't get an abortion?' No such party."
The second and final day of testimony wrapped up around 3:30 p.m., with Cunningham saying he needs to spend the night reviewing testimony and his own notes before making a decision Friday.
"The 1931 abortion ban was to keep women at home having babies," one side argued on Wednesday, according to Langton, while the other invoked the morality of Dr. Kevorkian's practice and his "not being allowed to end a life, should apply at the beginning of life, too."
Dr. Kevorkian was a Michigan physician and champion for a terminally ill patient's right to die by assisted suicide in the 1990s. Kevorkian earned the nickname “Doctor Death” when he admittedly assisted in the suicides of more than 130 terminally ill patients.
He was convicted in 1999 and spent more than eight years behind bars for the death of Lou Gehrig’s disease patient Thomas Youk of Waterford
The attorneys for two county prosecutors spoke at Wednesday's hearing about having the right to say whether or not charges will be brought forward when it comes to the 1931 law.
The court also heard from Michigan's Chief Medical Executive, Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, who spoke against the 1931 law.
“By subjecting women to carry pregnancies in a forced manner, we are subjecting them to potentially negative health outcomes that they are not choosing for themselves," Bagdasarian said.
On behalf of the state, an ob-gyn at Michigan Medicine, Dr. Lisa Harris, offered her testimony, pointing out that the current law would prove difficult for doctors and medical staff to follow.
“How high does the risk of dying need to be to sort of count or qualify as a life-preserving abortion? The second is how imminent does the… how sick does a patient need to be to quality under that exception,” she said in court via WXYZ.
On the other side, prosecutors from Kent and Jackson counties from the state's west side said they may enforce the over 90-year-old law.
Their attorney said on Wednesday that the argument isn't over someone’s right to access abortion, and they need to focus on the current law.
"The governor is required to enforce the law as it is, not in the way that she wants it to be," attorney David Kallman said.
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