ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan

About Us

The ACLU Southwestern Branch is comprised of Allegan, Berrien, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, and Van Buren Counties. For a full listing of our board members, upcoming events and announcements, please click on the corresponding link:

Board Members
Upcoming Events
Announcements


You can contact the Southwestern Branch Board at:
P.O. Box 50332
Kalamazoo, MI 49005

To request assistance:
Call the state office: 313-578-6800 or to file a complaint about a civil liberties issue, click here.

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Meetings

Meetings are held on the 1st Wednesday of the month at 7:00 pm; People’s Church, 10th Street, Kalamazoo

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Board of Directors

President: Jessica Hermann-Wilmarth
Vice President: Jacquelyn Taylor
Treasurer: Don Brown
Secretary: Sue Nelmes

Board Members:
Paul Andrews
Joyce DeRight
Hannelore Eck
Mark Hurwitz
Peter Kobrak
Dorphine Payne
Eric Pott
James Rodbard
John Vollmer
John Willson
Kammy Webb

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Upcoming Events 

Liberating the Breast Cancer Genes

Tuesday, April 20, 2010 @ 7:00 p.m.
Kirsch Auditorium, Fetzer Center, Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo

Co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, Planned Parenthood and the YWCA Kalamazoo. Free and open to the public; advance registration is strongly encouraged. Click here to register.

The ACLU of Michigan and friends present this lecture on the ACLU's legal challenge to the patenting of genes associated with breast cancer and ovarian cancer, with Chris Hansen, National Staff Counsel. Watch the CNN report on the ACLU lawsuit below.


In 2009, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of breast cancer and women's health groups, individual women and scientific associations against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, as well as Myriad Genetics and the University of Utah Research Foundation, which hold the patents on the human genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2.

These genes are used to identify women who are at a high risk for developing breast and ovarian cancer. Since Myriad has the patents to these genes, it is the only lab in the country where diagnostic testing can be performed. The lawsuit charges that patents on human genes violate the First Amendment right of inquiry and U.S. patent law because genes are "products of nature" and therefore can't be patented.

On March 29, 2010 the federal court ruled that patents on genes associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer are invalid. The precedent-setting ruling marks the first time a court has found patents on genes unlawful and calls into question the validity on patents held on approximately 2,000 human genes.

ACLU National Staff Counsel Chris Hansen, who is lead counsel in the lawsuit, will discuss the far-reaching legal, ethical and economic implications of this landmark lawsuit on April 20.

To learn more about future ACLU events in the Kalamazoo area, sign up for email action alerts here.

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Announcements

Get Involved with Your Local ACLU

Would you like to become more involved with the ACLU? Consider running for election to your local ACLU Branch Board of Directors or becoming a volunteer with the branch.

Any dues-paying ACLU member is eligible to run for the local board of directors. Members of the board are required to:

• Attend a monthly business meeting of the board;
• Participate in committee work including but not limited to social committees, event committees, outreach committees and membership recruitment committees; and
• Represent the ACLU at local meetings or functions as necessary.

Read more about the responsibilities of ACLU of Michigan Branch Board members here.
Board members should have a strong commitment to a range of civil liberties and civil rights issues. No particular educational or professional background is required. Gender, racial/ethnic, and religious diversity, as well as ability, sexual orientation, age and experience as an immigrant are just some forms of diversity that are important to us in maintaining a vibrant, active board.

Don't have time to participate on a board or simply prefer to be active in other ways? We can always use the help of volunteers for our activities and events. Regular volunteer activities include staffing ACLU information tables at local fairs and festivals, helping organize education and outreach events and more.
Get involved by filling out our short form.