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A Michigan judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of a 1931 law that banned abortions, which would allow the procedure to remain legal in the stateif the U.S. Supreme Court decides to overturnRoe v. Wade.
The 1931 law has been dormant since theSupreme Court’s 1973 decision inRoe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide.
“Forced pregnancy, and the concomitant compulsion to endure medical and psychological risks accompanying it, contravene the right to make autonomous medical decisions,” the judge added. “If a woman’s right to bodily integrity is to have any real meaning, it must incorporate her right to make decisions about the health events most likely to change the course of her life: pregnancy and childbirth.”
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer praised Tuesday’s decision, vowing to “fight like hell toprotect access to safe, legal abortion” in the state.
“Today marks an important victory for Michiganders,” Whitmer said in arelease. “The opinion from the Michigan Court of Claims is clear and sends the message that Michigan’s 1931 law banning abortion, even in cases of rape or incest, should not go into effect even ifRoeis overturned. It will help ensure that Michigan remains a place where women have freedom and control over their own bodies.”
“But our work is not over,” she continued. “We must protect the rights of nearly 2.2 million women in Michigan to make decisions about their bodies because, however we personally feel about abortion, a woman’s health, not politics, should drive important medical decisions.”
IfRoeis overturned, 13 states — Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming — that have so-called “trigger bans” in place that would almost immediately outlaw abortions.
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And along with Michigan, four other states — Alabama, Arizona, West Virginia and Wisconsin — had bans on abortions in place beforeRoeestablished the nationwide right to abortion in 1973, and the could all enforce them again if the case is overturned. Four more states — Georgia, Iowa, Ohio and South Carolina — have passed bans or extreme limits on abortion thatcould go into effect ifRoefalls.
source: people.com
