ACLU suing to overturn Michigan ban on Medicaid-funded abortions

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is suing to remove Michigan’s ban on Medicaid-funded abortions and abortion care just days after abortion rights advocates garnered a different win in state court.

ACLU of Michigan and the group’s national chapter on Thursday announced their lawsuit in the Michigan Court of Claims on behalf of nonprofit YWCA Kalamazoo, arguing that the ban violates the state’s constitution since the passage of Proposal 3 in 2022 enshrined the right to reproductive freedom.

The ban “directly discriminates against organizations like YWCA Kalamazoo that are committed to ensuring comprehensive reproductive and child care for low-income Michiganders by forcing an unconstitutional choice between abandoning their mission or diverting their resources to subsidize reproductive health care that would be funded by Medicaid absent the discriminatory ban,” the lawsuit states.

The ban can delay vital care, increase costs to those already facing financial hardships, particularly impacts people of color and creates a two-tiered system where those with low incomes have to pay out of pocket for abortion care while those with higher incomes are covered through insurance, according to a release from the ACLU of Michigan.

Everyone “deserves quality, dignified and affordable health care,” but the ban excludes Medicaid-eligible people from the constitutionally guaranteed right, said Bonsitu Kitaba, ACLU of Michigan deputy legal director, in a statement.

“In a state that has boldly fought back against attacks on reproductive rights, this is unacceptable,” Kitaba said. “We will continue to fight to ensure that abortion care is available to all.”

Right to Life of Michigan President Amber Roseboom assailed the move in a statement, saying “radical activists” are ignoring the wants of Michigan taxpayers in favor of “big money donors.”

“Today, abortion-obsessed activists are again appealing to the courts to achieve what they failed to garner support for in the legislative process, now hoping to force Michigan taxpayers, already facing the financial burdens of high inflation, to pay for other people’s abortions through Medicaid dollars,” Roseboom said.

House Democrats sought to repeal the ban in a package of bills last year but failed to advance the effort . State Rep. Karen Whitsett, D-Detroit, said she would not support allowing Medicaid to pay for recipients to have abortions.

Another failed part of the Democrats' package — which otherwise passed — did see some success this week, however.

A Michigan judge on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction against the state's mandatory 24-hour waiting period before receiving an abortion.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: ACLU suing to overturn Michigan ban on Medicaid-funded abortions