Michigan Judge Grants Gretchen Whitmer’s Request to Block Abortion Ban

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Aug 19, 2022   |   12:00PM   |   Lansing, Michigan

A Michigan judge has granted Gretchen Whitmer’s request to block the state’s abortion ban that protects the lives of unborn babies.

Oakland County Judge Jacob Cunningham sided with the pro-abortion governor and granted her request for a preliminary injunction. His order means county prosecutors can’t enforce the 1931 abortion ban that went into effect following the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The Michigan Supreme Court has 6 months to determine whether the ban can ultimate be enforced so women and babies can be protected from aboritons. Abortions will be legal in Michigan until the Whitmer lawsuit or the one from the Planned Parenthood abortion business is fully resolved.

Here’s more:

The ruling came after a two-day evidentiary hearing in Oakland County Circuit Court in front of Judge Jacob Cunningham where attorneys renewed their arguments for and against the temporary ban. This was the first hearing in the country since Roe v. Wade was overturned with live testimony on the impact of allowing the criminalization of  abortion.

Cunningham said the harm of allowing prosecutors to criminalize abortions could not be “more real, clear, present and dangerous.”

“This is the ultimate example of maintaining the status quo,” Cunningham said. “There is precisely zero harm to the defendants by granting a preliminary injunction”

The ruling of course ignores the harm to unborn babies who are killed in abortions while the lawsuit plays out. Likely thousands of babies will be killed at abortion businesses across the state in the meantime and women could be killed or injured by dangerous abortions and abortion pills.

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The 91-year-old law contains an exception under which abortions can be done to protect the life of the mother.

The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled earlier this month that county prosecutors can enforce Michigan’s abortion ban even though a state judge has previously ruled that state officials can’t enforce it. But Whitmer filed an emergency request for a ruling saying they can’t enforce the ban, and that request was granted today.

As LifeNews reported, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, with a 6-3 majority ruling in the Dobbs case that “The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion” — allowing states to ban abortions and protect unborn babies. The high court also ruled 6-3 uphold the Mississippi 15-week abortion ban so states can further limit abortions and to get rid of the false viability standard.

Chief Justice John Roberts technically voted for the judgment but, in his concurring opinion, disagreed with the reasoning and said he wanted to keep abortions legal but with a new standard.

Texas and Oklahoma had banned abortions before Roe was overturned and Missouri became the first state after Roe to protect babies from abortions and South Dakota became the 2nd. Then Arkansas became the third state protecting babies from abortions and Kentucky became the 4th and Louisiana became the 5th and Ohio became the 6th and Utah became the 7th and Oklahoma became the 8th and Alabama became the 9th. This week, Mississippi became the 10th and South Carolina became the 11th,Texas became the 12th with its pre-Roe law and Tennessee became the 13th.

Michigan, Wisconsin and West Virginia have old pro-life laws on the books but there is question about whether they are applicable and will be enforced.

Ultimately, as many as 26 states could immediately or quickly ban abortions and protect babies from certain death for the first time in nearly 50 years.

The 13 total states with trigger laws that would effectively ban all or most abortions are: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

“Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives,” Alito wrote.

“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences,” Alito wrote. “And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer authored a joint dissent condemning the decision as enabling states to enact “draconian” restrictions on women.

Polls show Americans are pro-life on abortion and a new national poll shows 75% of Americans essentially agree with the Supreme Court overturning Roe.

Despite false reports that abortion bans would prevent doctors from treating pregnant women for miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies, pro-life doctors confirm that is not the case. Some 35 states have laws making it clear that miscarriage is not abortion and every state with an abortion ban allows treatment for both.