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Judge who received award from Planned Parenthood blocks Michigan's 1931 abortion ban

Pro-choice protester in Detroit, Michigan
Pro-choice protester in Detroit, Michigan Photo by Matthew Hatcher/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

A Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled on Tuesday that the state's 1931 abortion ban likely violates the state constitution and granted a preliminary injunction blocking the law from taking effect, the Detroit Free Press reports.

The 1931 ban is still on the books in Michigan but has been unenforceable for nearly 50 years. If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade (1973), the law would have once again prohibited all abortions except those performed to save the life of the mother.

National Review notes that the judge who ruled in the case, Elizabeth L. Gleicher, donates to Planned Parenthood, received an award from Planned Parenthood, and represented Planned Parenthood in court during her time at the ACLU. Planned Parenthood is a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

A pair of pro-life groups filed an amicus brief arguing that Gleicher should recuse herself from the case, but Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel did not file a recusal motion. Nessel also said she does not plan to appeal the ruling.

The state supreme courts of Alaska, California, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Florida, New Jersey, and Massachusetts have all ruled that their respective state constitutions protect the right to an abortion.

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