“Today marks an important victory for Michiganders,” said Governor Whitmer. “The opinion from the Michigan Court of Claims is clear and sends the message that Michigan’s 1931 law banning abortion, even in cases of rape or incest, should not go into effect even if Roe is overturned. It will help ensure that Michigan remains a place where women have freedom and control over their own bodies”

The 1931 law was rendered unconstitutional with the 1973 passage of Roe v. Wade.

Governor Whitmer filed a lawsuit in April challenging the state’s abortion ban, saying the ban violates the Due Process Clause of the Michigan Constitution, which provides a right to privacy and bodily autonomy.

The ban also violates the state’s Equal Protection Clause, denying women equal rights because the law was adopted to reinforce outdated ideas of the proper role for women in society, she said.