Abortion Restrictions Struck Down by Michigan Court

05.13.25 (PRESS RELEASE) – Today, a Michigan state court permanently struck down several onerous and baseless abortion restrictions in the state. The court ruled that three challenged restrictions violate Michigan’s Reproductive Freedom for All (RFFA) constitutional amendment, which recognizes the state constitutional right to abortion. The amendment was passed by Michigan voters in 2022 and is one of the broadest guarantees of reproductive freedom in the nation. Today’s decision comes after the court already temporarily blocked these restrictions last year and heard a full trial on their constitutionality in February. The Center for Reproductive Rights filed this case last year on behalf of Northland Family Planning Centers and Medical Students for Choice.

The laws struck down today include:  

• A law mandating that abortion patients wait a minimum of 24 hours after receiving deceptive and biased “counseling” materials before they can access care.  
• A law forcing clinicians to dispense, and patients to consume, anti-abortion biased counseling both before and after the 24-hour waiting period. The biased counseling materials include information that is irrelevant, inaccurate, and stigmatizing. 
• A prohibition on qualified advanced practice clinicians (APCs)—including physician assistants and nurse practitioners—from providing abortion care. APCs are already permitted to administer the same medications and procedures for patients experiencing early pregnancy loss in the state.

In striking down these three abortion restrictions, Judge Sima Patel agreed that the laws violate the state constitutional right to abortion. Judge Patel rejected the state’s arguments that these laws protect patients’ health, writing that forcing patients to read biased, inaccurate information is “paternalistic and stigmatizing, making the patient feel belittled for becoming pregnant.”

“Today’s ruling is a monumental win for Michigan abortion providers and their patients. This is exactly what Michiganders wanted when they voted overwhelmingly to protect their right to access abortion,” said Molly Duane, senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Despite the victory at the ballot box, these baseless abortion restrictions have remained on the books, impeding and humiliating patients seeking care. These laws do nothing to improve patients’ care or decision making. We will keep fighting to make reproductive freedom for all a reality.”

“It’s about time that these unnecessary and stigmatizing barriers to care are finally thrown out for good,” said Renee Chelian, executive director of Northland Family Planning Centers. “Our patients no longer have to worry that they may not be able to get the time-sensitive care they need. These restrictions are an insult to our patients, who know what’s best for themselves. We are hopeful that our patients will never again have to face such barriers to essential care in the great state of Michigan.”

“Today’s decision allows the next generation of abortion providers to train in environments that provide evidence-based health care,” said Pamela Merritt, executive director of Medical Students for Choice. “The standard of care has always included learning how to provide the patient-centered abortion care, and now future health care providers in Michigan can finally train and practice medicine without burdensome laws that do nothing to advance the practice of medicine. Medical Students for Choice is committed to provide high quality trainings and medical education rooted in science in line with Michiganders’ vision of access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care.”

Michigan was one of the first states to enshrine the right to abortion into the state constitution in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Since 2022, voters in 13 states passed ballot measures protecting abortion rights. Those states include Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and New York. You can find out more about the abortion laws in each state here.

This case, Northland Family Planning Center v. Michigan, was filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights, Goodman Hurwitz & James, P.C., and David A. Moran on behalf of Northland Family Planning Center and Medical Students for Choice.

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