Case update: A trial was held in this case starting February 13, 2025. On August 21, 2024, the Michigan Court of Appeals kept the abortion restrictions blocked after denying the state’s request to stay enforcement of the preliminary injunction.

In November 2022, just months after the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion, voters in Michigan overwhelmingly approved the Reproductive Freedom for All Act (RFFA). The proposal amended the Michigan state constitution to protect individuals’ reproductive freedom from unwarranted government interference.

While the Michigan legislature repealed some of the state’s abortion restrictions after the amendment passed, some of the most burdensome abortion restrictions—and particularly those that directly impact patients—still remain.

To help ensure that Michigan’s abortion laws align with the RFFA, today the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit challenging three state abortion restrictions:

• A law mandating that abortion patients wait a minimum of 24 hours after receiving biased counseling materials before they can access care.  
• A law forcing clinicians to dispense to their patients biased counseling materials containing irrelevant, inaccurate and stigmatizing information about abortion. 
• 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.

“When they voted overwhelmingly for the RFFA, the people of Michigan sent a clear message that they want reproductive freedom to be protected to the utmost degree under their state constitution,” said Rabia Muqaddam, senior staff attorney at the Center. “With this lawsuit, we hope to eliminate archaic and harmful restrictions that are outright contrary to the RFFA and help ensure the state’s laws reflect the will of Michigan voters.”

Michigan is one of seven states in which voters have weighed in on abortion-related ballot measures after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Each time, voters sided in favor of abortion rights.

Read more about the case filed today here.