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A Michigan judge rejected a challenge to the state’s longtime ban on taxpayer-funded abortions for low-income residents.
The lawsuit argued that the ban had no standing after Michiganders voted in 2022 to pass a constitutional amendment ensuring the right to an abortion.
Judge Brock A. Swartzle ruled the group that filed the lawsuit had no standing to file the challenge.
The Michigan American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), along with the law firm Goodwin Procter, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the YWCA Kalamazoo, which provides financial help to people seeking abortion care.
The Michigan ACLU estimates that 77 percent of the people YWCA Kalamazoo provides financial assistance to qualify for Medicaid.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs ask the court to declare the abortion-coverage ban unconstitutional and allow Michigan to join the 17 other states that cover abortion through Medicaid programs.
Swartzle argued in his decision that since the YWCA is a nonprofit and not an individual, it does not have the legal right to present the challenge.
“The YWCA is not an individual and it, as a nonprofit organization, does not have reproductive freedom,” he wrote. “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 decision adds.
In Michigan, Medicaid only covers abortion in order to save the life of the pregnant person or when the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest.
A spokesperson for the ACLU of Michigan criticized the decision.
“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,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“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.”
This story was updated at 4:30 p.m.
