In a significant legal move, Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel has requested a judge to revisit a previous ruling regarding abortion rights. She aims to overturn a statute that mandates clinics to assess if patients are being coerced into ending their pregnancies.
Earlier in May, Michigan Court of Claims Judge Sima Patel sided with abortion rights proponents in her ruling. The judge eliminated mandatory waiting periods, compulsory informed consent forms, and restrictions on advanced practice clinicians providing abortion care under a doctor’s guidance. These restrictions were deemed to be in violation of the 2022 amendment to the Michigan Constitution regarding reproductive rights.
Despite these decisions, Patel upheld a 1978 law that obliges providers to screen patients for coercion. She concluded that this requirement does not constitute an undue burden on accessing abortion. In a recent filing, Nessel has contested this aspect, urging the judge to declare the screening mandate unconstitutional.
The Democratic attorney general contended that the screening law is aimed at discouraging patients from opting for abortion and advocated for its revocation under the reproductive rights amendment.
In a press release from her office, Nessel highlighted the inconsistency of the screening requirement with Michigan’s consent laws for other medical treatments.
“Women wishing to continue their pregnancy, those seeking management for a miscarriage, and men pursuing a vasectomy all may do so without this level of state interference,” Nessel stated. “Michigan residents and their healthcare providers deserve the same freedom when it comes to the deeply personal decision to have an abortion.”
Should Patel decline the request, the case may proceed to the Michigan Court of Appeals and potentially reach the Michigan Supreme Court.
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