Michigan's 24-hour abortion waiting period blocked by Court of Claims

(Michigan Advance) Michigan’s 24-hour waiting period before receiving an abortion, as well as mandates to give patients illustrations of fetuses and adoption information, are blocked after a Michigan Court of Claims judge said Tuesday that the laws contradict the state’s constitutional right to an abortion that voters approved of in November 2022.

In the opinion, Judge Sima Patel said that the current 24-hour mandatory waiting period for an abortion in Michigan “exacerbates the burdens that patients experience seeking abortion care” by needlessly increasing the cost of care for patients, increasing the risk that person attempting to make a private medical decision will have to disclose their decision to have an abortion and possibly preventing patients from receiving the method of abortion they would like to have.

“The 24-hour waiting period forces needless delay on patients after they are able to consent to a procedure, thus burdening and infringing upon a patient’s access to abortion care. This burdens and infringes upon a patient’s freedom to make and effectuate decisions about abortion care,” Patel said in the opinion. .............(more)

https://michiganadvance.com/2024/06/25/michigans-24-hour-abortion-waiting-period-blocked-by-court-of-claims/