Michigan Gov. Whitmer, Planned Parenthood Sue Over State’s 90-Year-Old Abortion Ban In Case Roe V. Wade Is Overturned

Topline

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and Planned Parenthood filed two separate lawsuits Thursday in an effort to block the state’s decades-old abortion ban—which will go back into effect if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade this summer—in efforts to ensure the right to an abortion in the Democrat-led state, as Michigan’s GOP-controlled legislature is unlikely to do so.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks at an event on January 25 in Lansing, Michigan.

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Key Facts

Planned Parenthood of Michigan and a Michigan abortion provider filed a lawsuit in state court that seeks a court order blocking the state attorney general from enforcing the state’s abortion ban and asks the court to affirm the right to an abortion under the Michigan Constitution.

Whitmer said she had also filed a lawsuit asking the Michigan Supreme Court to rule that abortion is constitutional in the state, in order to stop the abortion ban in case Roe v. Wade is overturned.

Michigan’s ban was imposed in 1931 and makes it a felony to perform an abortion, but it hasn’t been in effect since the Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide in 1973 with its decision in Roe v. Wade.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has said she would not enforce the ban, Bridge Michigan reports, but Nessel is up for reelection this year and the Republicans running to oppose her support the law—and prosecutors could still ask a court to force Nessel to enforce it, Planned Parenthood notes.

Though Michigan has a Democratic governor and AG who oppose the abortion ban, its legislature is controlled by Republicans who won’t overturn it, meaning court action is necessary for it to be blocked.

Big Number

29,669. That’s the number of abortions performed in Michigan in 2020, according to the state’s health department.

Crucial Quote

“No matter what happens to Roe, I am going to fight like hell and use all the tools I have as governor to ensure reproductive freedom is protected,” Whitmer said on Twitter. “Today in court, I represent all those who deserve the freedom to choose their own future. That’s a fight worth having.”

What We Don’t Know

Whether Roe v. Wade will be overturned. The Supreme Court is now weighing the issue in a case concerning the legality of Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, with a decision expected to come out by the time the court’s term ends in late June or early July. The court is broadly considering whether to let states restrict abortion even before the fetus is viable, and Mississippi has asked the court to overturn Roe v. Wade entirely in its ruling. While justices on the 6-3 conservative court signaled during oral arguments they were likely to side with Mississippi, it’s still unclear whether it will rule narrowly and just uphold the 15-week ban, or strike down Roe v. Wade entirely.

Key Background

Michigan is one of eight states that has an abortion ban from before Roe v. Wade was decided that could go back into effect if it’s overturned, the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute notes, along with Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Wisconsin. More than 20 states are set to restrict abortion in some way if Roe v. Wade is overturned: 12 states have “trigger bans” that will only take effect if the Supreme Court rules, for instance, nine states have abortion bans that were blocked in court but could be allowed if Roe v. Wade is struck down and four states have specified that abortion isn’t protected under their state Constitutions. Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit is part of a broader effort by abortion rights advocates to shore up abortion access in anticipation of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, with other Democratic-led states passing measures enshrining the right to an abortion to make sure it stays legal even if it’s struck down on the federal level.