The judge who put a hold on enforcing Michigan’s abortion ban won’t remove herself from the case. That’s despite a request from the Legislature’s Republican leaders.
Judge Elizabeth Gleicher issued the injunction in May, before the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. The injunction preemptively blocked enforcement of Michigan’s 1931 statutory abortion ban after Roe versus Wade was overturned.
That order is the only thing right now standing in the way of enforcing the ban while multiple legal challenges play out.
The Legislature’s GOP leaders filed a motion asking Gleicher to step aside based on past donations to Planned Parenthood and to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s and Attorney General Dana Nessel’s campaigns. Gleicher called the request “borderline frivolous.”
In her response to the motion. Gleicher says she has not violated any ethics rules or stepped outside the bounds of what’s normal for a judge in her position. She also says her history of supporting candidates and abortion rights does not mean she cannot judge impartially in this case.
This is one of a number of legal cases in play regarding abortion rights in Michigan, as well as a potential ballot proposal to put abortion rights in the state constitution.