Great Lakes Wire

Today, in response to a lawsuit filed by Right to Life of Michigan and other anti-choice organizations and advocates, the Michigan Department of Attorney General filed a Notice of Supplemental Authority alerting the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan to a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court rejecting certain plaintiffs’ standing to challenge regulations on mifepristone. The notice was filed after the briefing on the Defendants’ motion to dismiss concluded in April. The Right to Life lawsuit seeks to strike down the right to reproductive freedom.

In the notice, the Department highlighted the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM), which was issued in June. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiffs, a group of anti-abortion medical associations and individual doctors, lacked standing to challenge the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) regulation of mifepristone.

The Department’s notice explained that the Supreme Court’s rejection of the AHM plaintiffs’ claim that the FDA’s rules on mifepristone required them to provide abortion care against their consciences should similarly result in dismissal of the Right to Life plaintiffs’ conscience-based injury claims. The Department also noted that the Supreme Court dismissed the AHM plaintiffs’ argument that they had standing by incurring costs to oppose the FDA’s rules, reaffirming that an organization “cannot spend its way into standing.” The Right to Life plaintiffs make similar arguments, which are also without merit.

“The Supreme Court’s recent decision upholding access to mifepristone underscores the lack of standing for individuals and organizations who oppose abortion on moral, ideological, or policy grounds to deprive millions of Michigan women of their constitutional right,” Nessel said. “As I have always argued, this lawsuit is a blatant, politically motivated assault on a fundamental liberty, devoid of merit. Just as the Supreme Court dismissed the AHM plaintiffs’ case, so too should the Court reject this unfounded challenge.”

Following Roe v. Wade's 2022 overturning by U.S. Supreme Court returning abortion jurisdiction back states' control; Proposal 3 amendment was passed safeguarding reproductive rights within state constitution post-November vote resulting from extreme statute revival criminalizing all abortions except life-preserving ones for pregnant individuals being challenged now federally seeking invalidation blocking Section 28 Article 1 MI Constitution implementation naming AG Dana Nessel Governor Gretchen Whitmer Secretary State Jocelyn Benson defendants aiming reverse people's will via new January motions amending complaints again rejected flaws remaining baseless.

Attorney General Nessel has been an outspoken advocate for reproductive health since taking office in 2019 joining multi-state amicus briefs supporting healthcare access Idaho Indiana coalitions preserving medication abortion nationwide clarifying non-defense revived MI1931 ban law calling repeal legislatively enacted March filing brief supporting November ballot inclusion ensuring maintained accessibility amidst shifting judicial landscapes.

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