MI Judge To Decide Friday If Charges Can Be Brought Against Abortion Doctors

PONTIAC, MI — An Oakland County judge is set to rule Friday morning on whether to grant an order blocking county prosecutors from pursuing criminal charges against doctors who perform abortions.

Judge Jacob Cunningham heard arguments Thursday in an Oakland County courtroom, where lawyers from the governor's office asked Cunningham for a preliminary injunction to replace the temporary restraining order.

In asking for the preliminary injunction, lawyers from the governor's office said the 1931 law should be temporarily blocked while legal proceedings continue because the law is too vague and puts doctors in tough situations.

"The statute is incredibly vague and it places providers in a very, very difficult position, and that difficulty is then passed onto the clients," Whitmer's lawyers said.

However, lawyers representing county prosecutors said the injunction doesn't apply to them and that abortion is not protected in the state's constitution. Moreover, the lawyers called Psychologist Priscilla Coleman to the stand who said "(Abortion) is associated with an increased risk for mental health decline."

Under the state's 1931 law, which was triggered when U.S. Supreme Court justices overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion is banned in nearly every circumstance. The law was immediately blocked by a state judge until another state judge overruled the injunction barring enforcement of the 1931 law, saying the order cannot stop local county prosecutors from enforcing the law.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer immediately filed a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the law, a request that was granted by Cunningham. The restraining was extended at least until Aug. 18.

Whitmer filed a lawsuit earlier this year asking the Michigan Supreme Court to recognize a right to an abortion under bodily integrity provisions in the state's constitution. The court agreed to take up the lawsuit and can issue a ruling at any time.