From the Detroit Free Press – Politics
Author: Arpan Lobo
Updated: May 14, 2025, 9:44 am ET
Key Points:
- A state judge said a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2022 renders certain restrictions on abortion in Michigan unconstitutional.
- The ruling is a win for abortion advocates in Michigan, who said the laws created barriers to reproductive health care.
A Michigan judge has struck down parts of the state’s remaining laws that restrict abortion access, including finding the 24-hour mandatory waiting period and informed consent laws unconstitutional after voters passed an abortion access measure in 2022.
Abortion providers in Michigan had sued the state last year over its mandatory 24-hour waiting period for patients before receiving an abortion, … and a law prohibiting advanced practice clinicians (APCs) from providing abortion care. APCs can include nurse practitioners and other medical assistants…
…
Patel wrote the 24-hour mandatory waiting period “forces needless delay on patients after they are able to consent to a procedure, thus burdening and infringing upon a patient’s access to abortion care.”
…
Right to Life of Michigan, a group that opposes abortion rights, derided the ruling.
“This court ruling is bad news for women,” Genevieve Marnon, Right to Life of Michigan’s legislative director, said in a statement. “At a time when abortion complications are on the rise, eliminating standardized informed consent about procedures, potential risks, and alternatives is a serious disservice to women.”
According to state medical data, there were 5.1 total immediate medical complications per 10,000 abortions performed in Michigan in 2023. From 2020-2022, the rate was 1.7 total immediate medical complications per 10,000 abortions performed in the state….
Read more here.
Note: The 83 page opinion can be viewed here.
To see RLM President, Amber Roseboom’s statement on this ruling see this post: