GRAND RAPIDS — A federal judge on July 11, 2026, granted a preliminary injunction shielding two pro-life organizations from a state employment law that would have required them to recruit and hire staff regardless of the applicants’ views on abortion.
The lawsuit, filed by Right to Life of Michigan and the Pregnancy Resource Center in Grand Rapids against Attorney General Dana Nessel and the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, argued that recent changes to the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act violated the groups’ First Amendment rights by forcing them to employ staff whose views conflict with their mission.
U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker, a George W. Bush appointee, sided with the plaintiffs, writing that the law’s recent statutory changes “do, however, at least arguably cover” the organizations’ constitutionally protected conduct. Jonker also denied the state’s motion to dismiss the case.
The injunction bars the state from enforcing provisions that would otherwise prevent the groups from declining to hire people who have had an abortion, advocate for abortion rights or hold pro-choice views for open positions, and from disclosing those hiring preferences publicly. It also allows the Pregnancy Resource Center to decline volunteers who do not share its positions, and permits both groups to offer employee insurance that excludes elective abortion coverage.
A spokesperson for Nessel’s office said it has “significant concerns” with the ruling and will raise them in further proceedings. It is the second lawsuit Right to Life of Michigan has pursued against the state this year; a federal appeals court in May upheld the dismissal of a separate challenge to Michigan’s constitutional right to abortion access.