Republican AG candidate Doug Lloyd raises money with lawyer who fought to enforce Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban

Republican attorney general nominee Doug Lloyd is scheduled to raise money today with David Kallman, a conservative Lansing attorney who fought to allow Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban to take effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

A campaign invitation reviewed by Metro Times says Kallman is hosting a Sept. 29 fundraiser for Lloyd at his Lansing law office. Lloyd’s campaign website also lists David Kallman and his brother, attorney Stephen Kallman, among his endorsers.

The relationship is notable because Kallman was at the center of the legal fight over whether Michigan prosecutors could begin charging abortion providers after Roe fell in 2022.

Kallman represented Republican prosecutors in Kent and Jackson counties who argued that an injunction blocking Michigan’s dormant 1931 abortion law did not apply to locally elected prosecutors. The law criminalized abortion except when necessary to preserve the life of a pregnant woman and provided no exception for rape or incest.

Kallman argued that county prosecutors should be free to enforce the law. In an August 2022 interview, he said that if police brought prosecutors a case involving a doctor who performed an abortion outside the law’s limited exception, the doctor could face prosecution.

Lloyd, who was then and remains the Eaton County prosecutor, took a similar position.

Shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe, Lloyd told Fox 47 that Michigan’s old abortion law could be enforced by county prosecutors, despite the court injunction then in place.

“Because Roe v. Wade has been overturned, that law is in force,” Lloyd said at the time, according to the station.

Lloyd went on to describe how enforcement could work: Someone would have to make a complaint, police would investigate and determine whether a crime had occurred, and the case could then be forwarded to prosecutors.

Fox 47 reported again that August that Lloyd and Jackson County Prosecutor Jerard Jarzynka had “indicated they would prosecute abortion providers.”

Michigan’s legal landscape changed dramatically a few months later.

Voters approved Proposal 3 in November 2022, adding an explicit right to reproductive freedom to the state Constitution. Article 1, Section 28 now says every individual has a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” including abortion care, and prohibits the state from penalizing or prosecuting someone for exercising that right, subject to provisions allowing regulation after fetal viability.

That puts Lloyd’s current position on reproductive rights in sharper focus as he seeks to become the state’s top legal officer.

His campaign website promises that as attorney general he would protect “God-given constitutional rights without compromise.”

Metro Times asked Lloyd’s campaign whether that pledge includes Michigan’s constitutional right to reproductive freedom, whether Lloyd agrees with Kallman’s views on abortion, and whether he stands by his comments from 2022.

Instead of initially answering the questions, Lloyd’s campaign spokesman Keith Schipper offered a generic response: “Throughout this campaign, Doug has repeatedly stated that he will defend and enforce Michigan’s laws, including the abortion measure voters passed in 2022. It is one of the biggest differences between him and Eli Savit. Eli has made it perfectly clear he will not enforce laws he personally disagrees with and believes he can make up the law as a prosecutor.”

Asked for more clarification, Schipper said, “The Kallmans have been in Doug’s corner since day one because of his belief in the law, not because of abortion or any public policy. Before the Amendment, the 1931 law was the law, therefore, ‘in force.’ It would have been hypocritical for him, or any lawyer, to say otherwise. While he is pro-life, Doug will uphold the law and the constitution as it stands because that’s the job of the Attorney General. Meanwhile, Eli Savit has done the bidding of his biggest donors as evidenced by his decision to legalize psychedelic drugs while taking money from a magic mushroom dispensary seller.”

The fundraiser comes less than two weeks after Metro Times reported on Lloyd’s handling of several cases involving sexual assault, child exploitation, and domestic violence during his tenure as Eaton County prosecutor.

A review of court records, police reports, and other case files found cases in which serious charges were reduced, defendants received probation rather than jail, or prosecutors declined to pursue charges. In one sexual assault complaint, an 18-year-old woman said she was forcibly held down and assaulted outside a fraternity party. Records showed Lloyd’s office did not prosecute the case, and the woman later said someone in the office told her that “some women enjoy having sex with a tampon in.”

In another case, Lloyd’s office reduced charges against a defendant accused of sexually assaulting minors, who ultimately received probation without jail. A separate case involving a township supervisor accused of sexually explicit communications with an undercover detective posing as a 15-year-old also ended with a reduced charge and no upfront jail time.

Lloyd’s campaign defended his record, saying he has spent more than 30 years fighting for victims and arguing that the cases questioned by Metro Times represented only a small fraction of the thousands his office has handled.

“Doug Lloyd is a known and trusted advocate for victims,” campaign spokesman Keith Schipper said in response to that story.

The abortion debate has also reemerged elsewhere on Michigan’s Republican ticket. Earlier this month, Republican lieutenant governor nominee Jay DeBoyer floated a constitutional convention as a possible way to impose new limits on abortion, including a 12-week restriction. After the comments became public, DeBoyer said abortion was “settled” in Michigan. Right to Life of Michigan, the state’s leading anti-abortion organization, said it opposes using a constitutional convention for that purpose.

Lloyd is running against Democratic Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit to succeed term-limited Attorney General Dana Nessel.