Michigan ban on taxpayer-funded abortions targeted by lawsuit

Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — Abortion-rights supporters are going to court to try to overturn Michigan’s longtime ban on taxpayer-funded abortions for low-income residents. They’re arguing that the ban can’t stand after voters in 2022 approved a sweeping constitutional amendment that ensures access to abortion. Michigan’s Medicaid program pays for childbirth, birth control and sterilization, but not abortion. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of YWCA Kalamazoo, which pays for abortions sought by women in the Medicaid program. The anti-abortion group Right to Life of Michigan criticized the lawsuit, saying abortion-rights supporters are trying to sidestep the Legislature’s authority.