Victory in Michigan: Court Strikes Down Abortion Restrictions as Violations of Voter-approved Amendment

After Michigan voters approved the Reproductive Freedom for All Act (RFFA) in 2022, the state legislature repealed some—but not all—of the state’s abortion restrictions. Three restrictions particularly burdensome to patients remained.

The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit last year challenging those laws as violations of the RFFA, which recognizes the state constitutional right to abortion. 

On May 13, a Michigan state court sided with the Center and its clients—Northland Family Planning Center and Medical Students for Choice—and permanently struck down the three restrictions. 

“Today’s ruling is a monumental win for Michigan abortion providers and their patients,” said Molly Duane, senior staff attorney at the Center, after the ruling was announced. “This is exactly what Michiganders wanted when they voted overwhelmingly to protect their right to access abortion.”

The lawsuit, Northland Family Planning Centers v. Michigan, challenged these restrictions:

• A law forcing clinicians to dispense to their patients biased counseling materials containing irrelevant, inaccurate and stigmatizing information about abortion.  
• A law mandating that abortion patients wait a minimum of 24 hours after receiving biased counseling materials before they can access care.   
• A prohibition on qualified advanced practice clinicians (APCs) providing abortion care, even though they are permitted to administer the same medications and procedures for the treatment of early miscarriage. 

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

“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.”

The ruling in the case also removes barriers to training in abortion care, allowing “the next generation of abortion providers to train in environments that provide evidence-based health care,” according to Pamela Merritt, executive director of Medical Students for Choice.

Explore case details include legal documents, timeline, and more.

• Northland Family Planning Centers v. Michigan