Trial begins as abortion providers challenge some restrictions in Michigan
Abortion-rights advocates seeking to undo some of Michigan's remaining restrictions on the procedure were in court Thursday, as a trial began over a challenge to a series of existing laws.
Plaintiffs argue that some Michigan laws restricting abortion are no longer constitutional after voters approved a ballot proposal in 2022 that enshrined the right to reproductive freedom in the state's constitution. The lawsuit was filed last year by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of Northland Family Planning Centers, a group of abortion providers in metro Detroit.
They have already seen one victory in the case — last June, presiding Judge Sima Patel issued a preliminary injunction barring the state from enforcing some of the laws challenged in the case, including the mandatory 24-hour waiting period, the "informed consent" law that requires providers to ensure patients review certain materials described as inaccurate by abortion proponents, and a law prohibiting advanced practice clinicians (APCs) from providing abortion care. Patel, who was appointed to the Michigan Court of Appeals by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2022, wrote that Proposal 3 of 2022's passage most likely rendered the laws unconstitutional because they likely infringe on residents' ability to make decisions about their reproductive health care.
Patel did not issue a preliminary injunction against a portion of state law that requires abortion providers to determine whether patients have been coerced to receive an abortion, something also challenged by the plaintiffs.
Renee Chelian, executive director of Northland Family Planning Centers, took the stand to start the trial Thursday. She testified that the waiting period and informed consent laws created barriers to abortion access for some patients.
She said some patients had previously arranged transportation or child care on the day of their appointment, only to be delayed more than 24 hours because of the mandatory waiting period. In some cases, Chelian said, the delay resulted in an advancement of the gestational period that made some abortion procedures no longer feasible.
Chelian also testified the materials abortion centers are required to provide patients weren't completely accurate. The informed consent law also requires patients to fill out and submit a confirmation form affirming they've reviewed specific information. Before Patel issued a preliminary injunction against the informed consent law, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services stated on its website it "does not necessarily endorse all the information it is required to make available under this statute," the Free Press reported last year.
'From the time it was written until recently, there was a great deal of inaccuracies,' Chelian said.
Center for Reproductive Rights attorney Molly Duane also questioned Chelian about the state law requiring abortion providers to ensure patients are not coerced into having an abortion, the lone law challenged in the lawsuit that Patel did not grant a preliminary injunction against. Chelian testified it was more common for a woman to be coerced into remaining pregnant than to get an abortion.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, along with other state health officials. Nessel supports abortion access in Michigan, but her office is compelled to represent the state in any litigation brought against it. Nessel did not oppose the lawsuit, but lawyers from the Attorney General's Office are representing the state in the trial after a so-called conflict wall was established so an adversarial defense could be provided.
Assistant Attorney General Kendell Asbenson led cross-examination for the defense. He asked Chelian if the informed consent laws created "a burden" for patients.
"There's no other medical procedure done in this state where the patient is required to look at alternatives to the procedure they're going to have," she replied.
Dr. Charisse Loder, a clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Michigan, also testified Thursday.
Trial dates in the case are currently scheduled through next Friday. The case is being heard in Detroit, and being livestreamed online. It is a bench trial, meaning Patel, the overseeing judge, will rule on the case once it reaches its conclusion.
In 2023, Democrats in the Michigan House of Representatives had introduced legislation to repeal the waiting period and informed consent laws, but didn't have the votes to pass it alongside a series of other abortion access measures that were ultimately signed into law. Democrats have since lost the state House to Republicans, which makes it unlikely that any legislative action is taken on the abortion restrictions under the current leadership dynamic.
Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trial underway in challenge to abortion restrictions in Michigan
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
FBI Chief Kash Patel Stuns Joe Rogan With Swatting Admission
FBI Director Kash Patel left podcast bro Joe Rogan virtually speechless as he casually revealed that his house had been swatted. 'What?' asked a stunned Rogan. 'The head of the FBI gets swatted?' 'These people play, it's the ultimate hypocrisy. They have two sets of rules: One against you, and one for them,' Patel said, having just lit a cigar, during an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience published Friday. Patel did not specify who he meant by 'these people,' but instead stoked fears that broader corrupt actors in the government were attempting to snuff out his 'mission' to 'put out the truth.' Patel added that he was committed to 'congressional oversight' as he used most of the interview to stir the same claims of government corruption and 'bad actors' outlined in his 2024 book, Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy—which Rogan plugged. Patel also backed up President Donald Trump's allegations that he was being spied on as part of an investigation into Russian election interference. Patel alleged that former FBI director Andrew McCabe and then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as privy to the scheme, and he claimed they lied to cover it up. However, Patel claimed that he 'caught' them because they were 'arrogant' enough to 'write everything down.' 'Why would they write everything down?' Rogan asked. 'They are so arrogant. They think, 'No one is gonna catch us. I'm going to write everything down. We are gonna put it in a vault, and no one is gonna find it,'' claimed Patel. 'Well, you know what? I found the vault.' Patel claimed they had committed 'illegal activity' by pushing a 'disinformation campaign.' Patel cryptically added with a grin, 'And now I'm going to work.' The Daily Beast has contacted both McCabe and Rosenstein for comment. Rogan, taking Patel's word that crimes had been committed, asked, 'Is there a statute of limitations on these crimes?' Patel said 'generally' there is a five-year statute of limitations on what are known as 'process' crimes. 'But if you can tie them to an overarching conspiracy, there is no statute of limitations,' claimed Patel. 'So if there was more egregious conduct that no one knew about before that we are just finding, then we will have to relook at it.' Yet Patel promised, 'The one thing we will do is put out all that information to the American public.' He added, 'And if we can work with our partners at the DOJ to come up with a prosecution, that will be their decision.' The Daily Beast has contacted Patel for further comment.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
FBI Director Kash Patel reveals in Joe Rogan interview that his home was targeted in swatting attempt
FBI Director Kash Patel told podcast host Joe Rogan during an interview released Friday that his house was swatted this week. Patel was a guest on "The Joe Rogan Experience," and during the interview, the FBI director broke news about his home getting swatted. "As Director of the FBI of responsibility, I'm not just gonna bring a case because somebody hurt me. They did. And they continue to do it," Patel said. "S--t. My house just got swatted yesterday." Swatting is when a person attempts to send armed law enforcement to another person's house over a fake incident, which has led to deadly consequences in the past. Dhs Boss Noem Vows To 'Hunt' Down Those Making Swatting Calls Targeting Conservative Media The FBI did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on the matter. Read On The Fox News App Klas in Las Vegas reported that a swatting call was reported at Patel's home on Tuesday morning at about 11:15 a.m. When police reached out to the residence, they were able to determine the call was a fake before sending a response team to check it out. Patel mentioned the swatting as he spoke to Rogan about exposing the corruption of the leadership in place before President Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office. Specifically, the same leadership did whatever it could do to protect themselves and their friends, and Patel said it was his mission to educate the world that it happened. Fbi Investigating Rise In Swatting Incidents After Several Conservatives Targeted, Kash Patel Says "It's the ultimate height of hypocrisy," Patel said. "They have two sets of rules, one against you and one for them. And what I want to do is lay out that entire body of work for the American people with Congress." He also said he wants to "let the American people know that my mission has always been to put out the truth, whatever the consequences are, whoever it's against, like I did when I signed up for Russiagate. If Donald Trump was a Russian asset and I proved it, I was telling the world that. That's what matters." "If we can hold people accountable in terms of indictments, then we'll work with our partners at DOJ," he continued. "His leadership team is in place. We've got great partners at DOJ. We're the ones working on all this stuff." Patel then turned his attention to the Jeffrey Epstein case, telling Rogan that people are upset that Epstein got a "sweetheart plea deal" for committing the most horrific crimes on the planet nearly 20 years ago. I Worked With Kash Patel To Expose The Russia Hoax And Know He's The Best Pick To Reform The Fbi But under Trump's last term, it was decided to not let the plea deal go and investigate Epstein once again, which led to charges and an indictment. "I've said, [FBI Deputy Director] Dan Bongino said, we've reviewed all the information, and the American public is going to get as much as we can release," he said. "He killed himself. Do you think, let's play out the logical conclusion of this? Do you think that myself, Bongino, and others would participate in hiding information about Epstein's grotesque activities, or do you think we would also participate in not prosecuting people we had evidence to prosecute people on? "But the problem is there's been like 15 years of people coming in and creating fictions about this that doesn't exist," Patel continued. "I'm working my ass off along with the leadership at the Bureau and DOJ to get you what we're allowed to give you. And you're going to get the video of the cell. And you're going to see for yourself." Patel's comments come days after Bongino told Fox News host Sean Hannity there is nothing in the Epstein file indicating he died by any other way than suicide. Bongino updated Hannity on the investigation into the Epstein file as conspiracies continue to float that he was murdered in prison. "The evidence we have in our files clearly indicates that it was, in fact, a suicide. We do have video. It's not the greatest video in the world. I don't want to set expectations on fire," Bongino said. "However, the video does show in that specific block, that he goes in, made a phone call; you'll see 12 hours of guards going in basically check on him, come back. You'll see nobody really comes out of that bay in that area than him. There's no one in there. "There's nothing there in the file at all that indicates anything other than in fact a suicide," Bongino added. The American financier died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking article source: FBI Director Kash Patel reveals in Joe Rogan interview that his home was targeted in swatting attempt
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kash Patel has live ‘WTF' moment on Joe Rogan as he learns of Trump vs. Musk mid-interview
FBI Director Kash Patel first learned the world's richest man had just accused his boss of being in the so-called 'Epstein Files' while taping an episode of Joe Rogan's podcast on Thursday. Patel, who has come under fire from MAGA supporters in recent weeks for backing away from conspiracy theories about disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein now that he leads the FBI, appeared taken aback by Elon Musk's wild tweets about Donald Trump's lengthy past relationship with Epstein. 'That's way outside my lane,' Patel demurred while Rogan wondered 'what the f*ck' was going on between the president and his former 'first buddy.' With the bromance between the president and Musk – who funded Trump's campaign to the tune of a quarter-billion dollars and spearheaded DOGE's government-dismantling mission – blowing up in spectacular fashion on Thursday afternoon, Rogan interrupted his interview with Patel to break the news to the FBI chief. Roughly an hour into The Joe Rogan Experience taping on Thursday, Musk took issue with the president saying he was 'disappointed' about the Tesla CEO's ongoing criticisms about the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' that Republicans are trying to pass. Following Musk's exit from the administration last week as a 'special government employee,' the tech mogul had grown increasingly outspoken against the president's signature legislation, claiming it would 'bankrupt' the country. 'Time to drop the really big bomb,' Musk tweeted on Thursday afternoon. '@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!' He followed up that tweet by adding: 'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.' Moments before Musk dropped his bombshell post, Patel had spent a significant portion of his Rogan interview attempting to convince the conspiracy-peddling podcast host that Epstein did indeed commit suicide. Patel and his deputy director Dan Bongino – both of whom had previously supported the theory that Epstein was murdered in jail – have taken heavy criticism from right-wing influencers for now insisting that all evidence suggests Epstein killed himself. While Rogan began wondering if Patel and the FBI had footage of Epstein's island residence, the show's producer jumped in to let them both know that Musk had just flung out his allegation about Trump. 'Jesus Christ,' Rogan gasped in shock. 'I'm not participating in any of that conversation between Elon and Trump,' Patel muttered. Reading from the tweets, Rogan then said 'someone should take his phone away' and that it was 'crazy' for Musk to accuse the president of being on the supposed client list of the deceased sex offender. 'How does he know? Does he know that Donald Trump's in the Epstein files? Does he have access to the Epstein files?' Rogan then asked Patel directly. 'I don't know how he would, but I'm just staying out of the Trump-Elon thing,' the FBI director shot back. 'That's way outside my lane.' As a shocked Rogan wondered 'what the f*ck are they doing,' Patel reiterated that he knows his 'lane and this ain't it.' Rogan, meanwhile, expressed concern over the amount of time that Musk spends posting to the social media platform he owns. 'I understand he owns Twitter, I think it's bad for your mental health,' the podcaster concluded. 'I think posting things publicly all day and arguing with people all day is bad for you.' Beginning in the 1980s, Epstein and Trump began hanging out in the same social circles and soon became friends, partying and dining together at their palatial estates. They posed together for photographs and were 'each other's wingmen' at one point in time. 'He's a lot of fun to be with,' Trump said about Epstein in a 2002 interview. 'It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.' The pair would have a falling out in 2004. According to one Trump aide, Trump banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after he asked a young female worker for a massage. Following Epstein's 2019 arrest on sex trafficking charges, Trump said he was 'not a fan of his' while one of the president's lawyers insisted they had 'no relationship.'
