Abortion is legal in Michigan at every stage of pregnancy, protected as a fundamental right under the state constitution. Michigan abortion law rests on Article I, Section 28 of the state constitution, adopted by voters in November 2022, and on the Reproductive Health Act of 2023, which stripped out the criminal penalties, clinic rules, and insurance restrictions that had built up over decades. The state can regulate abortion after fetal viability, but it cannot ban it when a health care professional judges it medically necessary.
The Constitutional Right to Reproductive Freedom
Article I, Section 28 gives every individual a fundamental right to reproductive freedom. That right covers a full range of pregnancy-related decisions: prenatal care, childbirth, contraception, sterilization, abortion, miscarriage management, and infertility care.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Section 28 Right to Reproductive Freedom
The bar for any government restriction is deliberately high. The state can only limit reproductive freedom if it shows a compelling interest and uses the least restrictive means available. And “compelling” is defined narrowly in the text itself: the interest must relate to the health of the person seeking care, must be consistent with accepted clinical standards, and cannot override that person’s own decision-making.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Section 28 Right to Reproductive Freedom
Two other guarantees sit inside the amendment. The state cannot penalize or prosecute anyone based on their pregnancy outcome, whether that outcome is a miscarriage, a stillbirth, or an abortion. And the state cannot take action against anyone who helps a pregnant person exercise their reproductive rights with that person’s consent, which sweeps in health care providers, support workers, and family members alike.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Section 28 Right to Reproductive Freedom
Viability and the Health Exception
The constitution lets the state regulate abortion after fetal viability, but the definition of viability keeps the judgment call with the treating clinician. Viability means the point in a pregnancy when, in the professional judgment of the attending health care professional and based on the facts of that particular case, there is a significant likelihood the fetus could survive outside the uterus without extraordinary medical measures.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Section 28 Right to Reproductive Freedom
Even after viability, the state can never prohibit an abortion that a health care professional determines is medically indicated to protect the life or the physical or mental health of the pregnant individual. The clinician’s judgment controls.2House Fiscal Agency. Ballot Proposal 3 of 2022
What the Reproductive Health Act Repealed
The Reproductive Health Act, signed in late 2023, translated the constitutional amendment into statutory cleanup. It formally repealed the 1931 felony ban on abortion (MCL 750.14), a companion statute criminalizing the advertisement or sale of abortion-related medications (MCL 750.15), and an old provision making it a misdemeanor to publish information about preventing conception or inducing miscarriage (MCL 750.40). Under the 1931 law, performing an abortion had been a Class G felony with a maximum sentence of four years in prison, escalating to a Class C felony with a fifteen-year maximum if the patient died.3Michigan Legislature. Abortion Penalties Repeal – Senate Bill 2 Analysis
The act also swept out the facility rules known as TRAP laws, which had governed hallway widths, ceiling heights, HVAC systems, and janitor’s closets in clinics that performed abortions. Those rules had gone well beyond ordinary medical safety requirements and had driven up costs for independent providers.4State of Michigan. Governor Whitmer Signs Reproductive Health Act
A final piece signed on December 11, 2023, ended Michigan’s insurance rider rule. Before that, anyone who wanted abortion coverage in their health plan had to buy a separate rider. House Bill 4949 eliminated that requirement, so private plans can now include abortion coverage without a separate purchase.5State of Michigan. Governor Whitmer Signs Final Piece of Reproductive Health Act The act also cut back the detailed patient information providers had been required to report to the state, leaving only basic procedural data. Bills to reinstate more detailed reporting have been introduced but have not become law.
Informed Consent and the End of the Waiting Period
Michigan’s informed consent statute, MCL 333.17015, once required physicians to provide specific state-scripted information at least 24 hours before performing an abortion. That included the probable gestational age of the fetus, a written summary of the procedure and its risks, a state-produced depiction of fetal development, and materials on prenatal care and parenting resources. Providers also had to screen for coercion.6Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 333.17015 – Public Health Code
In May 2025, the Michigan Court of Claims permanently struck down several of those requirements, including the 24-hour waiting period, in Northland Family Planning Centers v. Michigan. Judge Sima Patel ruled that the restrictions violated the constitutional right to reproductive freedom, finding them medically unjustified and uniquely burdensome on abortion care. Patients no longer face a mandatory delay between the initial consultation and the procedure.
Standard medical informed consent still applies. Physicians discuss the nature of the procedure, its risks, and alternatives, the same way they would for any medical intervention. What ended was the extra layer of state-scripted materials and the forced delay.
Parental Consent for Minors
An unemancipated minor still needs written consent from one parent or legal guardian before a physician can perform an abortion. That requirement was not repealed by the Reproductive Health Act.7Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 722.903 – Consent to Abortion on Minor
When a parent is unavailable, refuses, or the minor prefers not to involve one, the minor can petition the probate court for a judicial bypass. The court must grant the waiver if it finds either that the minor is mature enough and sufficiently informed to make the decision on her own, or that waiving the consent requirement would be in her best interests.8Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 722.904 – Petition for Waiver of Parental Consent Only one of the two grounds needs to be satisfied.
Medication Abortion and Telehealth
Medication abortion is legal on the same terms as any other abortion care in Michigan. There are no special rules layered on top. Providers can prescribe mifepristone and related medications within the scope of their practice, including through telehealth, and the repeal of MCL 750.14 specifically removed what would have been criminal liability for nurses and physicians prescribing these medications.4State of Michigan. Governor Whitmer Signs Reproductive Health Act
Parental consent still applies to unemancipated minors seeking medication abortion, and the coercion screening requirement applies regardless of the procedure type.
Insurance and Medicaid
With the rider rule gone, a private health plan in Michigan can cover abortion the same way it covers any other medical procedure. Whether a specific plan does depends on the insurer and the employer, but the legal barrier that forced people to buy separate coverage has been removed.5State of Michigan. Governor Whitmer Signs Final Piece of Reproductive Health Act
Medicaid is different. A state ban dating to the 1980s blocks the use of Michigan Medicaid funds for abortion, so hundreds of thousands of enrollees cannot use their coverage to pay for the procedure and must find another way to cover the cost. A 2024 lawsuit argued that the ban is inconsistent with the new constitutional amendment, but the Court of Claims dismissed the case in mid-2025 for lack of standing.9Michigan Court of Claims. YWCA of Kalamazoo v. State of Michigan – Opinion and Order Whether the ban survives Proposal 3 on the merits has not been decided.
Federal money is a separate layer. The Hyde Amendment, renewed each year as an appropriations rider, bars federal Medicaid dollars from paying for most abortions. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the amendment in Harris v. McRae in 1980, holding that neither states nor the federal government has an obligation to fund all medically necessary abortions.10Legal Information Institute. Restrictions on Abortion Funding If Michigan ever repeals its state-level Medicaid ban, Hyde would still block federal matching funds for most abortion coverage.
Protection From Out-of-State Prosecution
Michigan has stacked several layers of protection for providers and patients who might face legal exposure in other states. A May 2022 executive directive instructs state agencies not to cooperate with or assist any out-of-state investigation or prosecution tied to reproductive health care that was lawful where it was provided.11State of Michigan. Whitmer Signs Executive Directive on Protecting Reproductive Healthcare A July 2022 executive order provides that the Governor will decline to extradite anyone whose alleged offense involves providing or receiving reproductive health care, unless the person was physically in the requesting state when the alleged conduct took place.
The constitutional amendment reinforces the point by prohibiting the state from penalizing anyone who assists a pregnant person exercising reproductive rights with that person’s consent.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Section 28 Right to Reproductive Freedom A 2024 law adds a further safeguard by prohibiting insurers from discriminating against health care professionals who provide reproductive care within the scope of their license, so providers do not lose malpractice or liability coverage for performing lawful abortions. Executive directives and orders can be reversed by a future governor; the constitutional protections are far more durable.
What Providers Can Still Be Penalized For
With the old criminal statutes gone, enforcement has shifted almost entirely to administrative and civil channels. Providers who act outside the scope of their license or violate professional standards face discipline from the state licensing board, including revocation, suspension, probation, or fines.12Michigan Legislature. Abortion-Related Amendments – House Bill 5711 Analysis A handful of specific penalty provisions remain:
- Failing to properly dispose of fetal remains, or failing to obtain required authorization for final disposition, is a civil infraction carrying fines of up to $1,000 per violation.12Michigan Legislature. Abortion-Related Amendments – House Bill 5711 Analysis
- Unauthorized disclosure of identifying information from abortion reports is a felony punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.12Michigan Legislature. Abortion-Related Amendments – House Bill 5711 Analysis
- Providers who fail to comply with the informed consent rules that remain in effect face administrative sanctions, including license action, fines, or required restitution.12Michigan Legislature. Abortion-Related Amendments – House Bill 5711 Analysis
State inspectors verify compliance at outpatient facilities that provide abortion care, and violations can result in a suspension of operations until the problem is corrected.