Latest news with #YWCAKalamazoo
5 days ago
- Politics
Judge rejects a challenge to Michigan's decades-long ban on publicly funded abortions
DETROIT -- A judge has rejected a challenge to Michigan's longtime ban on taxpayer-funded abortions for low-income residents, saying a group that brought the lawsuit had no standing to file it. Michigan voters in 2022 approved a sweeping constitutional amendment ensuring a right to abortion. But a ban on most taxpayer-funded abortions has been in place for decades, no matter which political party has controlled the Legislature or the governor's office. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of YWCA Kalamazoo, which pays for abortions sought by women in southwestern Michigan. The group says more than 75% have incomes that would qualify them for state support if Medicaid-funded abortions were allowed. Judge Brock Swartzle of the Michigan Court of Claims dismissed the lawsuit on July 3, saying YWCA Kalamazoo was the wrong party to bring a challenge. 'The YWCA is not an individual and it, as a nonprofit organization, does not have reproductive freedom,' the judge said in an 18-page opinion. 'Further, the YWCA does not provide abortion care and is not directly affected by a law that denies funding for abortions.' Michigan's Medicaid program only pays for abortions to save a woman's life or to end pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. Abortion and related services are available through Medicaid in 17 states, according to the American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm Goodwin Procter, which both represent YWCA Kalamazoo.
The Hill
5 days ago
- Health
- The Hill
Challenge to Michigan ban on taxpayer-funded abortions rejected
A Michigan judge rejected a challenge to the state's longtime ban on taxpayer-funded abortions for low-income residents. The lawsuit argued that the ban had no standing after Michiganders voted in 2022 to pass a constitutional amendment ensuring the right to an abortion. Judge Brock A. Swartzle ruled that the group that filed the lawsuit had no standing to file the challenge. The Michigan American Civil Liberties Union, along with the law firm Goodwin Procter, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the YWCA Kalamazoo, which provides financial help to people seeking abortion care. ACLU Michigan estimates that 77 percent of the people YWCA Kalamazoo provides financial assistance to qualify for Medicaid. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs ask the court to declare the abortion-coverage ban unconstitutional and allow Michigan to join the 17 other states that cover abortion through Medicaid programs. Swartzle argued in his decision that since the YWCA is a non-profit and not an individual, it does not have the legal right to present the challenge. 'The YWCA is not an individual and it, as a nonprofit organization, does not have reproductive freedom,' he wrote. 'Further, the YWCA does not provide abortion care and is not directly affected by a law that denies funding for abortions.' 'Even if it could be considered 'someone' in a corporate sense, there is no allegation there is no allegation that it was penalized, prosecuted, or adversely acted against by the state,' the decision adds. In Michigan, Medicaid only covers abortion in order to save the life of the pregnant person or when the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest. A spokesperson for ACLU Michigan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Judge rejects a challenge to Michigan's decades-long ban on publicly funded abortions
DETROIT (AP) — A judge has rejected a challenge to Michigan's longtime ban on taxpayer-funded abortions for low-income residents, saying a group that brought the lawsuit had no standing to file it. Michigan voters in 2022 approved a sweeping constitutional amendment ensuring a right to abortion. But a ban on most taxpayer-funded abortions has been in place for decades, no matter which political party has controlled the Legislature or the governor's office. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of YWCA Kalamazoo, which pays for abortions sought by women in southwestern Michigan. The group says more than 75% have incomes that would qualify them for state support if Medicaid-funded abortions were allowed. Judge Brock Swartzle of the Michigan Court of Claims dismissed the lawsuit on July 3, saying YWCA Kalamazoo was the wrong party to bring a challenge. 'The YWCA is not an individual and it, as a nonprofit organization, does not have reproductive freedom,' the judge said in an 18-page opinion. 'Further, the YWCA does not provide abortion care and is not directly affected by a law that denies funding for abortions.' Michigan's Medicaid program only pays for abortions to save a woman's life or to end pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. Abortion and related services are available through Medicaid in 17 states, according to the American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm Goodwin Procter, which both represent YWCA Kalamazoo. A request for comment from the ACLU was not immediately answered Thursday.
