GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation said Governor Gretchen Whitmer lacks the power to determine what kind of care can be provided by the medical community.
The governor’s executive orders prohibit medical procedures that are considered non-essential. That stopped elective surgeries and most other procedures except emergencies and COVID-19 care.
The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, an arm of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, filed the suit along with Miller Johnson Law Firm, identifying several medical practices as plaintiffs: Grand Health Partners in the Grand Rapids area, Wellston Medical Center in Wellston, and Primary Health Services in Ludington.
“Under both the state constitution and federal law, the governor doesn’t have the power to unilaterally shut down health care providers in the state,” said Patrick Wright, director of the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation and vice president of legal affairs at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, in a release.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division.
