Nessel files motion to halt Michigan abortion law • Michigan Advance

Short summaryfiled Friday in the Michigan Court of Appeals, was a response to a motion filed by lawyers representing the people of Michigan Northland Family Planning Center et al v Nessel et al appeal from Michigan Court of Claims Decision in June that the contested provisions violate In 2022, a bill was passed that would enshrine abortion rights in the Michigan Constitution.

The judge in the case issued a temporary injunction blocking the state from enforcing the 24-hour waiting period, and the resolutions that required certain information to be provided to patients before an abortion, also known as “informed consent,” and prohibited advanced practice clinicians from performing abortions.

The order is valid until an objection is filed during the proceedings. The lawsuit was filed filed in February by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of Northland Family Planning Centers and Medical Students for Choice.

Although Nessel is named in the lawsuit in her official role, the Attorney General’s Department has erected a wall of conflict over the case because Nessel has publicly stated that the regulations, which also cover include the required distribution of certain information to patients prior to abortion and a ban on advanced practice physicians performing abortions, were probably unconstitutional.

A team of Deputy Attorneys General led by Deputy Attorney General Eric Restuccia was assigned to defend the contested provisions and intervened on behalf of the state of Michigan.

In her letter, Nessel argued the appeal should be dismissed because of the clear language of the provisions added to the state constitution on the 2022 ballot.

“Article 1, Section 28 of the Michigan Constitution guarantees the right to reproductive freedom and prohibits the state from denying, burdening, or infringing that right absent a compelling state interest justified by the least restrictive means. Based on the evidence in the record, the challenged rights do not overcome the compelling interest test and instead conflict with the Michigan Constitution and health care goals,” Nessel said in the letter.

The lawsuit seeking to strike down the regulations also names Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel and Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Director Marlon Brown as their official counterparts.