That was the crux of arguments from Muqaddam, an attorney representing both plaintiffs in the case. She said the 24-hour waiting period can increase the cost of an abortion, both for outstate women needing lodging because of the wait and in-state women who spend extra on gas to make two trips.
“The state has acknowledged that these laws do impact or burden to some degree,” Muqaddam said, “and if they burden to some degree, then we think they infringe” on a woman’s right to have an abortion in Michigan.
Information distributed during mandatory counseling is often factually inaccurate which is “fundamentally at odds with” the idea of “informed consent,” she added.
But Assistant Attorney General B. Eric Restuccia, arguing on behalf of the state, said the mandatory counseling isn’t meant to be discriminatory and can help protect patients by ensuring they have access to relevant information.
Similarly, he said the state’s 24-hour waiting period is not a roadblock considering that women can print out and complete the state’s Informed Consent Confirmation Form ahead of meeting with an abortion provider.
“If you’re interested in having children and … if you had more information, you may have made a different decision — that’s the question,” Restuccia said. “The question is: Is this information that’s relevant for exercising your fundamental rights and your freedom? Seems to me that it is.”
Patel, however, questioned the merit of showing women seeking abortions pictures of fetuses — currently required under Michigan law ahead of obtaining an abortion — asking if it could be seen as “passing a sort of value judgment on whether to seek, or not seek, abortion care.”
But that “information is not supposed to be geared toward an end,” Restuccia contended, saying it was “supposed to be value neutral” and illustrate potential risks related to childbirth and abortion.
Restuccia is defending the state law even though his boss, Nessel, has sided with plaintiffs in her role as attorney general. Her office has set up a “conflict wall” to argue both sides of the case, Nessel said in February.
Michigan’s Democratic-led Legislature attempted to repeal the state’s 24-hour waiting period and other restrictions as part of what leaders touted as the Reproductive Health Act. But they were forced to amend the legislation in late 2023 after public opposition from Rep. Karen Whitsett, D-Detroit.
