A federal appeals court has thrown out a lawsuit aimed at overturning Michigan’s constitutionally protected reproductive rights, ruling that the groups behind the challenge had no legal ground to stand on.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s decision to dismiss the case brought by Right to Life of Michigan and several Republican lawmakers. In its ruling, the three-judge panel stated that the plaintiffs failed to show they suffered the kind of direct, concrete injury required to give them the legal standing to sue state officials, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
The legal battle stems from the fallout of the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which handed over abortion regulation to individual states. In Michigan, that ruling threatened to automatically reactivate a 1931 law that banned almost all abortions. To block that old law from taking effect, Michigan voters passed Proposal 3 in November 2022, officially amending the state constitution to guarantee individual reproductive freedom.
Right to Life of Michigan and its co-plaintiffs filed their federal lawsuit in November 2023, attempting to invalidate that new constitutional amendment. The state’s executive branch pushed back with a motion to dismiss, arguing the challenge was legally hollow.
By April 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan agreed with the state, ruling that none of the 15 original plaintiffs had standing to sue. While a smaller group of those plaintiffs pushed the case up to the appeals court, the Sixth Circuit’s decision effectively backs up that initial dismissal.
Michigan’s top leadership celebrated the ruling as a victory for the voters who showed up at the ballot box.
“From the start, this lawsuit was a procedurally flawed, meritless, and politically motivated attack on reproductive rights that Michigan voters overwhelmingly supported,” Attorney General Nessel said in a statement. “I am relieved that the Court has once again rightly rejected this unfounded challenge. Although a loud faction remains determined to undermine bodily autonomy, the Michigan Constitution guarantees that decisions about your health belong to you. My office will continue to defend the reproductive freedom of Michiganders.”
Governor Whitmer echoed that sentiment, emphasizing the importance of protecting the 2022 voter initiative.
“Every Michigander deserves the right to make their own decisions about their own bodies,” Whitmer said. “I’m proud of this decision, which protects Proposal 3 and affirms the fundamental right to reproductive freedom in our Constitution. In Michigan, we’ll always fight like hell for your rights.”
Because the court focused entirely on the procedural issue of standing—meaning whether the plaintiffs were the right parties to bring the issue to court—the judges did not rule on the actual constitutional merits of Michigan’s abortion protections.
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