Whitmer Calls Court's Decision 'Fire Drill,' Asks MI High Court To Act

MICHIGAN — After a judge extended a restraining order Wednesday barring county prosecutors from enforcing a 1931 ban on abortion, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer asked the Michigan Supreme Court for a third time to decide if the state's constitution protects the right to an abortion.

Oakland County Judge Jacob Cunningham's decision keeps abortion legal in the state for at least until Aug. 17, as legal proceedings around law continue playing out.

Whitmer filed the restraining order moments after the state's supreme court essentially nullified a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of the state's abortion ban law, confusing abortion providers across the state.

"Monday’s fire drill is yet another example of why the Michigan Supreme Court must act," Whitmer said. "A legal patchwork that changes day to day, county to county is untenable. We need certainty that access to abortion is constitutionally protected in Michigan. Every day we delay, health care providers will question if they are able to provide care safely, or if their work will lead to prosecution and possible jail time."

Some attorney's blasted the judge for granting the restraining order.

"There is not right to an abortion under Michigan's constitution, so to grant a TRO to stop enforcement of a law based on the current existing status of the law is an interesting outcome," attorney David Kallman said, according to WXYZ.

Michigan's 1931 law banning abortion was trigger when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. But a Michigan Judge temporarily blocking prosecutors from enforcing the law, keeping abortion legal across the state.

After numerous groups, including state Republicans, challenged the injunction, the Michigan Supreme Court basically threw out the court order, allowing the abortion ban to be put in place. Whitmer then filed a restraining order preventing prosecutors from going after doctors for performing abortions.

Multiple prosecutors across the state, including Oakland County's Karen McDonald and Wayne County's Kym Worthy said they would refuse to enforce the law it if ever goes into effect.

"The fact that the 1931 law can criminalize healthcare providers for doing their jobs is going to extremes," Emergency Room Health Unit Coordinator La Cracha Handy said. "The ban will strip women of their reproductive freedom."

In the meantime, Whitmer filed a lawsuit asking the state's supreme court to recognize a right to an abortion in the state's constitution under bodily integrity provisions. The court can rule on the matter at any moment.

Despite the court proceedings, Michigan voters may have the opportunity to decide if abortion should remain legal in Michigan in November.