Whitmer: ‘We are going to court today to defend legal abortion in Michigan’

LANSING, Mich. (WLUC) - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her legal team are going to court Wednesday to defend legal abortion in Michigan.

On Wednesday morning the governor said, “I will keep fighting like hell to keep abortion safe and legal in Michigan.”

On Monday, the Oakland County Circuit Court granted the governor’s request for a temporary restraining order after a decision earlier that day from the Michigan Court of Appeals that cleared the path for county prosecutors to prosecute doctors and nurses for doing their jobs. Gov. Whitmer says she is fighting to ensure women have control over their bodies and that doctors and nurses can do their jobs without fear of jail time.

Michigan has a law from 1931 on the books banning abortion without exceptions for rape or incest and allowing doctors and nurses who offer reproductive care to be prosecuted. The Republican majority in the Michigan Legislature has been in court defending the 1931 abortion ban and multiple county prosecutors are prepared to prosecute if they have a legal opening and put nurses and doctors behind bars.