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(LifeSiteNews) — A judge temporarily blocked enforcement of Michigan’s pre-Roe abortion ban upon the request of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
After a state court ruled August 1 that local prosecutors could enforce the 1931 ban, Judge Jacob Cunningham issued a temporary restraining order later that day to block the law’s enforcement, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Cunningham wrote that “(Whitmer) has established that (prosecutors’) public statements that they will consider a case against an abortion provider should a law enforcement officer bring one to them,” along the Michigan Court of Appeals’ affirmation of their ability to prosecute abortion, “poses a threat of immediate and irreparable injury to the people of the State of Michigan.”
The Court of Appeals had ruled earlier in the day that county prosecutors are not bound by Judge Elizabeth Gleicher’s May 17, 2022 preliminary injunction intended to block enforcement of the abortion ban, prompting Whitmer to request for a temporary restraining order.
Still on the books, the Michigan abortion ban criminializes abortion in all cases except to save the mother’s life, with penalties of up four years in prison. It could potentially penalize mothers who perform their own abortions, including through pills, according to Axios.
Whitmer said in a statement late Monday, “I am grateful for this relief — however temporary — because it will help ensure that Michigan’s doctors, nurses, and health care systems can continue caring for their patients.”
She added that she believes the “lack of legal clarity” regarding Michigan abortion law is a “textbook example” of “why the Michigan Supreme Court must take up my lawsuit against the 1931 extreme abortion ban as soon as possible.”
Attorneys working on behalf of radical lesbian Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel had helped Whitmer seek the temporary restraining order. Late Monday, Nessel celebrated Cunningham’s granting of Whitmer’s request and said her department would “continu[e] to pursue all legal options available to ensure reproductive health care in our state.”
The next hearing to discuss the order is scheduled for Wednesday.