LANSING, Mich. — Moments after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade, Michigan's top attorney says her office will not prosecute licensed medical professionals who offer abortion services or those who seek an abortion.
In effect, the overturning of the longtime legal precedent will leave the legality of abortion care in the hands of individual states.
The 6-3 ruling was handed down Friday morning, a major decision after months of protests and years of legal fighting over abortion rights in the country.
“Although we knew this was coming after the leak of Justice Alito’s draft decision, it doesn’t make it any less shocking or unnerving that Americans will lose a fundamental right they’ve had for nearly my entire lifetime,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said. “To millions of Michiganders, this isn’t some abstract fight about social issues. These are kitchen table concerns that impact our ability to be economically stable, continue our education, and plan for our future. We all have our own personal beliefs about abortion; the decision of whether to terminate a pregnancy is a deeply personal one that should not be controlled by the state. There’s a big difference between adhering to your own personal beliefs and forcing others to abide by them.”
“As I’ve repeatedly made clear, I will not use the resources of the Attorney General’s office to enforce an unconstitutional law that will allow the state into our bedrooms and doctor’s appointments, interfering with our fundamental reproductive rights,” Nessel said. “As long as I’m in office, I will not prosecute women, girls, or their doctors for seeking or providing abortion services. Nor will my staff seek licensure discipline against medical professionals who safely perform these procedures.”
Michigan has a 1931 law on the books that would criminalize abortion and would make it a felony to perform one.
AG Nessel says the law could be interpreted so that anyone, from the receptionist who schedules the appointment to a billing administrator, could be charged with “aiding and abetting” the termination of a pregnancy.
A recent preliminary injunction has frozen the 1931 ban on abortion in most instances. That means, for now, abortions are legal in the state of Michigan.
Right to Life of Michigan, the Michigan Catholic Conference and two county prosecutors are asking the appeals court to throw out the injunction granted by Judge Elizabeth Gleicher, who said the law likely violates the state constitution, the AP reports.
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