Federal Court Dismisses Right to Life’s Prop 3 Lawsuit

LANSING – The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan has dismissed a lawsuit (PDF) filed by anti-abortion plaintiffs, including Right to Life of Michigan, which sought to strike down the right to reproductive freedom under multiple provisions of the U.S. Constitution. The Department of Attorney General filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in January 2024 on behalf of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. 

“Medical decisions belong to individuals and their doctors, not politicians and special interest groups,” Nessel said. “This ruling is a reminder that our Constitution and the will of Michigan voters cannot be struck down because anti-abortion individuals don’t like the outcome. My office will continue to defend Michiganders against attempts to roll back their rights and protect bodily autonomy.” 

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the authority to regulate abortion was left to individual states, triggering a patchwork of highly restrictive laws across the country. In Michigan, this ruling immediately threatened to revive an extreme, decades-old statute that criminalized all abortions except those performed to preserve the life of the pregnant individual. To definitively resolve the issue and safeguard reproductive rights within this state, Michigan voters passed Proposal 3, amending the state Constitution to enshrine a right to reproductive freedom. 

In November 2023, Right to Life of Michigan, along with Republican lawmakers and others opposed to Michiganders’ right to reproductive freedom, filed a federal lawsuit seeking to invalidate and enjoin Article 1, Section 28 of the Michigan Constitution, which became the law following the passage of Proposal 3. The lawsuit named Attorney General Nessel, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson as defendants and sought to overturn the will of the People of Michigan. 

The Attorney General, along with the other state Defendants, filed a motion to dismiss in late January 2024. In response, Plaintiffs amended their complaint. In April 2024, the Department filed a reply in support of the Defendants’ motion to dismiss, arguing that Plaintiffs’ amended complaint remained fundamentally flawed and meritless.  

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan sided with Defendants, holding that each of the 15 Plaintiffs lacked standing to maintain their claims and dismissing all claims against Defendants.