A Michigan court has issued a preliminary injunction to prevent county prosecutors from enforcing an abortion ban signed into law over 40 years before Roe v. Wade was decided.
The state’s abortion ban, which was passed into law in 1931, was unenforceable under the 1973 Roe ruling, but the law has been the subject of legal confusion since Roe was overturned in June. Friday’s injunction prevents prosecutors from filing criminal charges against abortion providers in the state, according to the 19th.
“Michigan women are understandably scared and angry, and they deserve more than being treated as second class citizens,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) wrote on social media. “The lack of legal clarity about abortion in Michigan has already caused far too much confusion for women who deserve certainty about their health care.”
INDIANA AG URGES MEDIA NOT TO RUSH JUDGMENT ON OHIO RAPE VICTIM ABORTION CASE
Michigan women are understandably scared and angry, and they deserve more than being treated as second class citizens. The lack of legal clarity about abortion in Michigan has already caused far too much confusion for women who deserve certainty about their health care.
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) August 19, 2022
Judge Jacob Cunningham of the Oakland County Circuit Court heard arguments from both representatives for the Michigan attorney general’s office and county prosecutors on Wednesday and Thursday. Linus Banghard-Linn, an attorney representing Whitmer on behalf of the state, claimed the 1931 ban “violates the Equal Protection Clause [of the U.S. Constitution] because of the discriminatory motive surrounding it,” according to the outlet.
In May, a judge suspended enforcement of the 1931 ban, but the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled on Aug. 1 that county prosecutors could still file criminal charges against abortion providers. However, Cunningham approved Whitmer’s request for a temporary restraining order on the ruling before the end of the day.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Prior to Roe’s overturn, Whitmer warned that “Americans will suffer and may die” in an op-ed if the law was overturned by the Supreme Court. On June 24, the day Roe was overturned, she filed a motion urging the state’s Supreme Court to take up a lawsuit she filed in April to scrap the 1931 law and declare abortion a constitutionally protected right under Michigan law.
The abortion law would make performing the procedure in the state a felony in most instances. Exceptions are provided to save the life of the mother, but no carveouts for instances of rape or incest were included in the law, according to ClickOnDetroit.
