Michigan's Abortion Laws: Triggered Ban Explored

Michigan's 1931 abortion law, which would have outlawed almost all abortions in the state, was temporarily blocked by a judge in May 2022, who argued that it likely violated the state's constitution and the right to personal autonomy and bodily integrity. This ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood, challenging the law. The law, which has been unenforceable since 1973 when Roe v. Wade was decided, has faced opposition from Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who has used her power to uphold abortion rights. In 2022, Michiganders voted in favor of amending the state's constitution to enforce reproductive freedom as a right, with 67.3% supporting Roe v. Wade and 65.7% supporting the repeal of the 1931 trigger ban on abortion. Despite these efforts, abortion remains a contentious issue in Michigan, with ongoing debates surrounding parental consent policies, access to abortion care, and the role of the state in regulating abortion.

Michigan's 1931 abortion law

The 1931 law was ruled unconstitutional by a Michigan Court of Claims judge on September 7, 2022, and was formally repealed by statute on April 5, 2023. The law was overturned following the passing of Michigan Proposal 22–3 in 2022, which added the right to abortion and contraceptive use to the state constitution.

Prior to the 2022 amendment, there were several attempts to repeal the 1931 law. In 2019, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer promised to veto any legislation attempting to ban abortions in the state. In the same year, a citizen ballot initiative sought to enshrine the right to abortion in the Michigan Constitution. In 2022, Governor Whitmer filed a lawsuit asking the Michigan Supreme Court to strike down the 1931 law, and Planned Parenthood of Michigan and the ACLU of Michigan also filed lawsuits, resulting in a temporary injunction.

The Michigan Constitution and abortion rights

Abortion in Michigan is legal throughout pregnancy. In 2022, a state constitutional amendment to explicitly guarantee abortion rights was placed on the ballot as Michigan Proposal 22–3, also known as Proposition 3 or Proposal 2022. It passed with 57% of the vote, adding the right to abortion and contraceptive use to the Michigan Constitution. The amendment prevents the regulation of abortion before fetal viability and makes it unconstitutional to restrict abortions to protect the life and health of the pregnant individual seeking an abortion.

The 2022 amendment nullified a 1931 law, Section 750.14, which criminalized abortion unless the pregnant person's life was in danger. The 1931 law would have gone back into effect following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, but on September 7, 2022, a Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled that the law violated the Michigan Constitution. The law was formally repealed by statute on April 5, 2023.

The road to securing abortion rights in Michigan was the result of years of planning, coalition-building, and grassroots organizing. The process began in January 2021 when community members at the ACLU of Michigan anticipated the fall of Roe v. Wade and joined forces with partners at Planned Parenthood and Michigan Voices to form a grassroots coalition to protect abortion access in the state. In January 2022, the coalition formed a citizen-led ballot campaign called Reproductive Freedom for All (RFFA) to amend the state's constitution. Organizers and volunteers collected signatures to put a measure on the midterm ballot, submitting 753,759 signatures on July 11, 2022. The measure was approved by the Michigan Supreme Court in September 2022, and it passed with overwhelming support in the 2022 midterm elections.

The victory for abortion rights in Michigan is significant as it demonstrates the power of grassroots organizing and the importance of planning ahead to protect civil rights and liberties. The amendment not only blocks the 1931 law but also secures the right to reproductive health care, including abortion, in the state.

Michigan's abortion clinics

Michigan has around 30 abortion clinics, according to estimates from the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice research group and a leading provider of abortion data. Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in Michigan, operates 14 health centres in the state: Ann Arbor, Detroit, Ferndale, Flint, Grand Rapids, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Livonia, Marquette, Traverse City, Petoskey and Warren.

In 2014, there were 20 abortion clinics in the state. In 2017, there were 19 Planned Parenthood clinics, 8 of which offered abortion services, in a state with a population of 2,209,248 women aged 15–49. The Women's Center of Michigan is another provider of abortion services in the state, with multiple locations throughout the Metropolitan Detroit area and Southeast Michigan.

Abortion is legally recognised as a protected right in Michigan. In 2022, Michigan Proposal 22–3 was passed with 57% of the vote, adding the right to abortion and contraceptive use to the Michigan Constitution. This amendment prevents the regulation of abortion before fetal viability, unless said regulations are to protect the individual seeking an abortion. It also makes it unconstitutional to make laws restricting abortions that would protect the life and health, physical and/or mental, of the pregnant individual seeking an abortion.

In June 2024, a Michigan Court of Claims judge suspended Michigan's 24-hour waiting period, informed consent counselling law, and ban on advanced practice clinicians performing abortions, stating that the laws were no longer enforceable under 2022 Michigan Proposal 3.

Michigan's trigger law

The law states that abortion is only permitted if the pregnant person's life is in danger. It does not allow for abortions in cases of rape or incest. If the law comes back into effect, it will result in the loss of access to abortion for about 2.2 million Michigan residents, according to estimates from Guttmacher. Michiganders seeking abortions would instead need to travel out of state, likely to Illinois. It is also likely that some of Michigan's abortion clinics would have to close.

However, Michigan's trigger law is not the same as an abortion trigger law. Abortion trigger laws are state laws that go into effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Michigan's law is an old law that will come into play again if Roe does not prevent it.

There have been several attempts to block the trigger law from coming into effect. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has filed a lawsuit to ask the state supreme court to recognise a woman's right to bodily autonomy under the state constitution. She has also asked the court to stop the enforcement of the 1931 Michigan abortion ban, arguing that it violates Michigan's due process clause, which provides a right to privacy and bodily autonomy.

In May 2022, a Michigan state judge granted a preliminary injunction in a suit brought by Planned Parenthood against the 1931 law. This injunction temporarily blocked the abortion ban. On May 7, 2022, Judge Elizabeth Gleicher invalidated the law, stating that:

> "A law denying safe, routine medical care not only denies women of their ability to control their bodies and their lives — it denies them of their dignity... Michigan’s Constitution forbids this violation of due process."

In addition, several county prosecutors have promised not to enforce the 1931 ban. However, some Republican prosecutors have argued that Whitmer does not have the power to request that the court nullify the law.

There have also been efforts to enshrine abortion rights in the Michigan Constitution. In 2022, an activist group called Reproductive Freedom for All started a ballot initiative to add the right to abortion and contraceptive use to the Michigan Constitution. The proposal was passed with 57% of the vote.

Michigan's anti-abortion activities

The group has also pushed through laws requiring women to be counselled or to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion. In 2019, Right to Life led a ballot drive to ban dilation and evacuation abortions, which passed in the Senate and House. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer promised to veto the legislation.

In 2022, Right to Life won the right to call a common procedure "dismemberment abortion" on ballot petitions. The group also pushed for a heartbeat ban, which would forbid abortions once cardiac activity is detected in a fetus.

In addition to Right to Life, there are other anti-abortion groups and individuals in Michigan. The Democrats for Life of America are a group of anti-abortion Democrats who advocate for an anti-abortion plank in the Democratic Party's platform. Notable anti-abortion Democrats include Sargent Shriver, Robert Casey, and former Rep. Bart Stupak. Stupak was a former leader of the bipartisan anti-abortion caucus in the United States House of Representatives. However, he was accused of betraying the anti-abortion movement after voting in favour of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Christen Pollo, the executive director of the Protect Life Michigan nonprofit, said she is "excited that Roe could possibly be overturned," arguing that abortion violates the “human rights” of the unborn.

There have also been acts of violence and vandalism committed by anti-abortion individuals and groups. In 1981, there was an arson attack at an abortion clinic in Michigan that caused $57,000 in damage. In 2006, David McMenemy of Rochester Hills, Michigan, crashed his car into the Edgerton Women's Care Center in Davenport, Iowa, and set the lobby on fire. In 2022, an anti-abortion protester set a Planned Parenthood building on fire in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and was sentenced to five years in prison. The pro-abortion militant group Jane's Revenge has accepted responsibility for acts of vandalism aimed at anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers in Michigan.

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