Judge: Prosecutors cannot enforce Michigan’s abortion ban:
On Friday, a Michigan judge blocked county prosecutors from enforcing the state’s 1931 abortion ban. Oakland County Judge Jacob Cunningham came to this decision after two days of testimony from abortion providers and the state’s chief medical officer. During this ruling he says he found these witnesses to be “extremely credible” while stating those provided by the defense were “unhelpful and biased”. The 1931 law, which bans abortion in all cases excepting those where the mother’s life is endangered, was retroactively blocked from going to effect by a preliminary injunction. Prior to the latest court ruling, the State Court of Appeals had ruled that county prosecutors were not covered by this injunction, thus allowing them to enforce the 1931 law as they saw fit. David Kallman, an attorney for two Republican county prosecutors working to appeal the case, has stated his opposition to the recent ruling as being because, “the judge ignored all of the clear legal errors and problems in this case…simply because the issue is abortion.” His side believes that laws should not be changed through injunctions and court decisions while their opposition believe that allowing the ban to be enforced would only cause confusion. The issue of abortion in the state is expected to be decided by a ballot seeking to enshrine its protection in Michigan’s constitution. The status of abortion come November will likely have a deciding impact on this battleground state’s general election.
Judge may seek to unseal portions of Mar-a-Lago affidavit, despite DOJ objections:
