A Michigan judge struck down several abortion-related laws last week, including a 24-hour waiting period, mandatory informed consent requirements, and a law prohibiting non-physicians from committing abortions.
Judge Sima Patel ruled that all three laws are now unconstitutional given the state’s adoption of an amendment that declared abortion to be a constitutional “right.”
Following the amendment’s passage, Northland Family Planning Centers and a group called Medical Students for Choice filed a lawsuit calling for the overturning of the laws. In 2024, Patel placed a preliminary injunction on each of the laws. At that time, she said a 24-hour waiting period “exacerbates the burdens that patients experience seeking abortion care,” and that the law requiring that only doctors commit abortions “exacerbates existing provider shortages, leading to large swathes of Michigan that currently lack physicians to provide abortion care.”
“Michiganders have the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including the right to abortion care, and the state cannot deny, burden or infringe upon this freedom barring a compelling state interest to protect the health of the individual seeking care,” Patel said in her ruling.
Michigan Governor Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she was “overjoyed” that the ruling removed “obstacles” to accessing abortion.
I’m overjoyed to say that the Michigan Court of Claims has seen these restrictive provisions for what they are: an unconstitutional overreach that infringes on our constitutional right to make our own reproductive health decisions.
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) May 13, 2025
“I’m overjoyed to say that the Michigan Court of Claims has seen these restrictive provisions for what they are: an unconstitutional overreach that infringes on our constitutional right to make our own reproductive health decisions,” she said on X.
Many readers had an unfavorable response to the news, questioning how a 24-hour waiting period for a life-ending decision was too much to ask. “A whole 24 hours was too long to wait to make a life changing decision?” one asked, adding, “This isn’t care, [it] is unsafe enabling… be honest for once and just call it on demand abortion access.”
Another pointed out that abortion clearly isn’t being treated just like any other ‘health care’, stating, “Waiting 24 hours? How was that a hardship? I have to wait weeks and more to access medical care.”
Another asked, “Then why do I have to wait to buy a handgun? I’m trying to protect myself, but the innocent baby can’t protect itself….” The commenter below remarked on the removal of only doctors as providers, writing, “By her logic, a hobbyist at a gun show is the same as a licensed dealer.”
Another said, “Honestly, a 24 hour wait period seems reasonable to me. This is a huge decision. One some girls may regret for the rest of their lives. Calling it healthcare really irks me. It’s not healthcare. It’s an abortion. And it’s a really sad thing. Ask me how I know.”
Another got to the heart of the matter with sarcasm, adding, “Kill those babies faster, right? Who needs to thoroughly consider a life ending procedure, right?”
Though the lawsuit named Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, Nessel expressed her support in overturning the laws. Last week she praised Patel’s ruling. “The court has rightly recognized that these provisions did nothing but burden and obstruct access to abortion care,” she said in a statement. “This ruling affirms what Michiganders made clear when they voted to enshrine a fundamental right to reproductive freedom in our state constitution: that deeply personal medical decisions belong to individuals and their providers.”
Right to Life of Michigan warned that without these laws in place, women (not just their preborn children) are put at greater risk.
“The Michigan Court of Claims ill-fated ruling is an immediate threat to the health and safety of women across our state. The overturn of informed consent for women considering an abortion flies in the face of both common-sense medical practice and the democratic process,” the organization said in a statement.
“Abortion is the only medical procedure of its kind in which the patient now is expected to go in blind. There is no question that women are at greater risk when they enter an abortion clinic in Michigan today than they were even a few years ago.”
