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Planned Parenthood, Ferndale, Michigan, USA - March 24, 2017: Planned Parenthood building with pro-life volunteers praying to end abortion, March 24, 2017, Ferndale, MichiganLinda Parton/Shutterstock

MICHIGAN (LifeSiteNews) – An active donor to Planned Parenthood will hear a challenge to a pro-life law brought by the nation’s largest abortion vendor.

Judge Elizabeth Gleicher, the chief judge of Michigan’s Court of Claims, will hear a challenge to a 1931 law in the state that bans abortions.

The law remains on the books, but has not been enforced since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Planned Parenthood has brought a lawsuit to block enforcement of the law in anticipation of a possible Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson that could reverse the 1973 decision.

Judge Gleicher disclosed that in addition to her previous work as a volunteer attorney for Planned Parenthood, she still gives money to the abortion giant.

“Judge Gleicher asked me to notify all counsel of record that she makes yearly contributions to Planned Parenthood of Michigan . . . and she represented Planned Parenthood as a volunteer attorney for the ACLU in 1996-1997,” a court clerk said in a statement.

“While Judge Gleicher does not believe this warrants her recusal and is certain that she can sit on this case with requisite impartiality and objectivity, she believes that this letter of disclosure is appropriate,” the statement said.

The non-recusal has raised concerns from the state Republican Party and a liberal legal commentator.

“How can we expect a judge to be impartial when they’re donors to planned parenthood?” Michigan Republican Party co-chair Meshawn Maddock tweeted. “As a donor she clearly ‘supports’ the plaintiff. She should recuse herself immediately.”

George Washington University’s Jonathan Turley, an attorney and legal commentator, said he believes Gleicher should recuse herself.

“Judge Gleicher should see the obvious appearance of a conflict given her contributions and history,” Professor Turley wrote on his website. “She should recuse herself in my view.”

He also said the judge should appoint an outside counsel to defend the law, as top state officials have already said they want it overturned. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has filed a separate challenge to the law, and the attorney general has refused to defend it, falsely claiming that it will risk the lives of “millions of women.”

“This law is dangerous. This law effectively strips women of their dignity and bodily autonomy, and in some cases, of their lives,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said, according to the Detroit Free Press. “I will not enforce it, and neither will I defend it. I will take no part of driving women back into the dark ages and the back alleys.”

“I will not utilize the resources of my department to endanger the lives of million of women in my state,” the state’s chief law enforcement officer said, though abortion kills unborn girls and maternal deaths due to illegal abortions are known to be exaggerated.

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