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Michigan Judge Blocks Enforcement of 1931 Abortion Ban

The decision followed two days of witnesses and expert testimony.

Prosecutors in Michigan cannot enforce the state’s antiquated abortion ban anytime soon, a judge ruled Friday. Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Jacob Cunningham handed down the decision after a two-day hearing over the fate of a 1931 state abortion ban that had long been deemed irrelevant until the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. In May, a temporary injunction was issued, blocking the law from being enforced. On Friday, Cunningham granting the injunction, saying the impact of a ban on Michigan women could not be overstated. “The harm to the body of women and people capable of pregnancy in not issuing the injunction could not be more real, clear, present and dangerous to the court,” he said. A Republican county prosecutor who had vowed to enforce the ban told the Associated Press that an appeal is already in the works, as the judge “ignored all of the clear legal errors and problems in this case.”