Overview

• Judge Sima Patel permanently struck down Michigan's 24-hour waiting period before abortions, ruling it unconstitutional under the state's 2022 voter-approved amendment protecting abortion rights.
• The decision also nullified requirements for providers to present fetal development charts and alternatives information, labeling them as coercive and stigmatizing.
• A longstanding rule limiting abortion procedures to physicians was overturned, expanding access by allowing advanced practice clinicians to perform abortions.
• The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by Northland Family Planning Centers and Medical Students for Choice, challenging the restrictions as unconstitutional.
• Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan's attorney general praised the decision as a reaffirmation of reproductive freedom, though state attorneys were still assigned to defend the invalidated regulations.