Judge Who is a Planned Parenthood Donor Strikes Down Michigan Abortion Ban

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Sep 7, 2022   |   3:47PM   |   Washington, DC

A Michigan judge who has come under fire for donating to the very abortion business that brought a lawsuit before her has struck down the state’s abortion ban that protects the lives of unborn children.

Judge Elizabeth Gleicher claims the 1931 law, passed well before the Supreme Court issued and overturned the infamous Roe v. Wade decision, somehow violates the Michigan constitution even though it has no right to abortion. The pro-life law makes it a crime to kill babies in abortions except in cases to protect the life of the mother.

Gleicher made annual donations to Planned Parenthood and represented the group as an attorney in a 1997 case challenging the same abortion ban she struck down today.

The judge falsely claimed killing a baby before birth is health care and that it is safe even though women are routinely injured in botched abortions.

“A law denying safe, routine medical care not only denies women of their ability to control their bodies and their lives — it denies them of their dignity,” Gleicher of the Court of Claims wrote. “Michigan’s Constitution forbids this violation of due process.”

Judge Gleicher had already issued a suspension of the law so it was not currently in effect saving babies from abortions the way other pro-life laws banning abortions in other states are currently helping women and saving unborn children following the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Leading pro-life advocates are upset Gleicher ever decided the case in the first place.

“Now that we know [Judge] Elizabeth Gleicher is an annual and long-time donor of pro-abortion group Planned Parenthood, it is clear her own beliefs are in direct conflict with the case she is set to rule on,” a spokesperson for the Michigan GOP told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Judge Gleicher must recuse herself from this case immediately so that the scales of justice remain balanced, fair, and unprejudiced.”

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Gleicher, in addition to giving annual donations to Planned Parenthood, represented the organization in a 1997 case which challenged the same abortion ban, the Detroit News reported. She was randomly assigned to the present case, a letter from a court clerk indicated.

“We are consulting with our legal team on this matter,” Right to Life of Michigan told the DCNF. “We believe it would be difficult for Judge Gleicher to stay impartial due to her personal beliefs and long history with Planned Parenthood but for now, we are relying on her comments regarding her ability to judge fairly.”

The Michigan Family Forum says there was even more politics behind the decision.

“Planned Parenthood filed the suit to prohibit Atty. General Nessel and county prosecutors from enforcing the 1931 law. The Attorney General already stated that she would not enforce the law if Roe is overturned,” it said. “Governor Whitmer has filed a similar suit asking the Michigan Supreme Court to declare abortion as a constitutional right. No action on that case has occurred yet. Michigan Family Forum is obviously disappointed in the judge’s decision, but we know that this is not the final word. MFF encourages you to pray for the unborn and for our pro-life allies defending the unborn in this case.”

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.