ACLU sues Michigan’s ban on Medicaid-funded abortions
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan has filed suit to overturn Michigan’s Medicaid ban on abortion and abortion care, just days after abortion rights activists won another victory in state court.
The ACLU of Michigan and the group’s national branch announced their lawsuit in the Michigan Court of Claims on Thursday on behalf of the nonprofit YWCA Kalamazoo, arguing that the ban violates the state constitution because the right to reproductive freedom was enshrined with the passage of Proposal 3 in 2022.
The ban “directly discriminates against organizations like the YWCA Kalamazoo that work to provide comprehensive reproductive health care and child care to low-income Michigan residents by forcing them to face an unconstitutional choice: either abandon their mission or use their resources to subsidize reproductive health care that would be funded by Medicaid without the discriminatory ban,” the lawsuit says.
The ban could delay vital treatments, increase costs for those already facing financial difficulties, is particularly tailored to people of color and creates a two-tier system in which low-income earners must pay for abortion out of their own pocket while higher earners are covered by insurance, according to a press release from the ACLU of Michigan.
Everyone “deserves high-quality, dignified and affordable health care,” but the ban excludes people eligible for Medicaid from that constitutionally guaranteed right, Bonsitu Kitaba, deputy legal director of the ACLU of Michigan, said in a statement.
“In a state that has courageously stood up against attacks on reproductive rights, this is unacceptable,” Kitaba said. “We will continue to fight to ensure that abortion care is available to all.”
Amber Roseboom, president of Right to Life of Michigan, criticized the move in a statement, saying it was because “radical activists” were ignoring the wishes of Michigan taxpayers in favor of “big donors.”
“Today, abortion-obsessed activists are once again turning to the courts to accomplish what they received no support for in the legislative process. They now hope to force Michigan taxpayers, already struggling with the financial burden of high inflation, to pay for other people’s abortions with Medicaid funds,” Roseboom said.
House Democrats tried to repeal the ban in a bill last year, but failed to get it passed. Democratic Rep. Karen Whitsett of Detroit said she would not support making Medicaid cover abortion costs.
However, another part of the Democrats’ package that had otherwise failed to pass saw some success this week.
A judge in the state of Michigan on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order against his state’s mandatory 24-hour waiting period before an abortion.
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