Jul 14, 2025, 7:48 AM ET

Michigan judge dismisses challenge to law limiting taxpayer-funded abortions

A Michigan judge ruled last week that a group suing to undo the state’s ban on taxpayer funding of most abortions has no standing to proceed.

Key Takeaways:

A Michigan judge dismissed the lawsuit, which challenged a state prohibition on Medicaid-funded abortions.
The state Medicaid program currently covers abortion to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape/incest.
Judge Brock Swartzle ruled that the group filing the lawsuit — YWCA Kalamazoo — had no standing to do so.

The Details:

The lawsuit seeking to end the state’s prohibition of taxpayer-funded abortion was brought by YWCA Kalamazoo, which pays for abortions for women in the Kalamazoo area.

According to ABC News, the group had argued that if taxpayer funding via Medicaid were permitted for all abortions, around 75% of its clients would qualify. On July 3, Judge Brock Swartzle of the Michigan Court of Claims dismissed the lawsuit, saying that the YWCA had no standing for bringing the suit.

Never miss the latest news in the fight for life.

According to The Hill, Michigan’s taxpayer-funded Medicaid program covers abortion in order to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest.

“The YWCA is not an individual and it, as a nonprofit organization, does not have reproductive freedom,” Swartzle said in his opinion. “Further, the YWCA does not provide abortion care and is not directly affected by a law that denies funding for abortions.”

“Even if it could be considered ‘someone’ in a corporate sense, there is no allegation that it was penalized, prosecuted, or adversely acted against by the state,” the ruling added.

Commentary:

Right to Life of Michigan President Amber Rosebloom praised the ruling, noting that though voters previously approved Proposal 3, a constitutional amendment in favor of abortion, it is still within the state’s purview to maintain some regulations around abortion.

“Proposal 3 guarantees access to abortion, not carte blanche funding of elective abortions at the expense of every Michigan taxpayer,” she said. “Moreover, the taxpayer funded program at issue – Medicaid – already pays for abortions to save the life of the mother and for victims of rape, and it will continue to do so. Yet, the abortion lobby is relentless in self-serving efforts to force Michigan taxpayers to pay for elective abortions in the hopes of creating a cash windfall.”

Meanwhile, the ACLU, which represented the YWCA in the case, has said it is “evaluating next steps.”

“This ruling is a major setback in the case and delays justice for hundreds of thousands of Michiganders who rely on Medicaid for their reproductive health care,” an ACLU spokesperson said. “This impact of the law is devastating: it can delay, and even prevent, access to vital health care. We and our clients are evaluating possible next steps.”

Follow Live Action News on Facebook and Instagram for more pro-life news.

Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.

Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.

Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.

Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!