In a ruling Wednesday, the Michigan Court of Claims declared several key state abortion regulations unconstitutional, citing the Reproductive Freedom for All amendment (RFFA) that was enshrined in the state constitution by voters in November 2022.
The decision, delivered by Judge Sima G. Patel in the case of Northland Family Planning Center v. Nessel, grants in part the plaintiffs’ request for declaratory and injunctive relief.
Judge Patel’s opinion concluded that several parts of Michigan Compiled Laws, which encompass the mandatory 24-hour waiting period, the mandatory uniform informed consent, and the ban on APCs providing abortion care, are unconstitutional under the RFFA.
The court granted the plaintiffs’ request for a permanent injunction, barring the enforcement of these specific provisions.
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The RFFA establishes a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including the right to abortion care. The amendment states that this right cannot be denied, burdened, or infringed upon unless justified by a compelling state interest to protect the health of the individual seeking care, achieved by the least restrictive means, consistent with accepted clinical standards and evidence-based medicine, and without infringing on autonomous decision-making.
In her ruling, Judge Patel found that the 24-hour mandatory waiting period burdens and infringes upon patients’ rights to reproductive freedom. The court noted that the delay increases costs, prolongs wait times, and can force patients to obtain care later in pregnancy when risks are higher.
Similarly, the court found that the mandatory uniform informed consent provisions also burden and infringe upon a patient’s right to make decisions about abortion care.
Judge Patel’s opinion highlighted concerns that the mandated information includes irrelevant and potentially inaccurate details, such as fetal development charts and parenting information for patients seeking abortion care. The court agreed with the plaintiff’s experts who testified that this deviates from the standard of individualized, patient-centered informed consent.
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The ban on Advanced Practice Clinicians (APCs) from performing abortions was also struck down as unconstitutional. The court found that this restriction arbitrarily limits the pool of qualified providers, creating logistical barriers to abortion access, increasing wait times and travel distances, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
Testimony from experts indicated that APCs, including nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives, are capable of safely providing early abortion care, similar to the care they already provide in miscarriage management.
However, the court upheld the provisions related to coercion screening. Judge Patel concluded that the requirement for providers to orally screen patients for coercion to abort and to post notices about the illegality of such coercion does not burden or infringe upon a patient’s access to abortion care.
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This ruling marks a significant shift in the regulatory landscape of abortion care in Michigan, aligning state law more closely with the reproductive rights enshrined in the state constitution. It is expected that this decision will be appealed.
The lawsuit was brought by Northland Family Planning Center, Northland Family Planning Center Inc. East, Northland Family Planning Center Inc. West (collectively “Northland”), and Medical Students for Choice (MSFC) against Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, Acting Director of the Michigan Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Marlon I. Brown, and Director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Elizabeth Hertel.
The plaintiffs challenged four specific Michigan abortion regulations: a 24-hour mandatory waiting period, mandatory uniform informed consent for patients seeking an abortion, mandatory screening for coercion to abort, and a ban on advanced practice clinicians (APCs) performing abortions.
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