As Michigan legislators saw other states quickly upping the ante with extreme war on women policies like personhood amendments and vaginal probe laws, they must have grown tired of our state merely being a face in the crowd.
So what else is there to do but dole out their own special brand of bat-crackers crazy in the form of Michigan's outrageous, monster War on Women Mega Bill.
We’ve written about the War on Women Mega Bill before, which combines every attack on women's health into the greatest assault on reproductive rights in our state’s history.
Initially, we tried to take the more traditional routes: we packed committee rooms with supporters but were denied the opportunity to testify; we proposed amendments to the bills only to witness our female, pro-choice allies in the House get banned from speaking; we recruited credible experts to testify against the bills only to witness their words fall on deaf ears.
It soon became obvious that we had to get creative.
Ok Michigan Legislature… We'll meet you at the Capitol on September 20th and channel our rage and frustration into dance!
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On September 20th the ACLU of Michigan, in partnership with Planned Parenthood, is taking over Michigan’s Capitol by staging a flashmob and rally on the Capitol lawn. Because our best hope for preventing this dangerous legislation from being signed into law is to keep the movement (literally) moving.
So please, watch our instructional video of the “Hands Off Dance” and master the moves we like to call the “Can’t Say It” and the “Pelvic Exam.”
Then make plans to join us in Lansing on September 20th with your dancing shoes on and protest signs in hand all for the sake of protecting women’s access to healthcare in Michigan.
The dance-off is just the tip of the iceberg. The huge community of people in Michigan who are tired of politicians interfering with a woman’s ability to make personal health decisions, have been very busy this summer, and have been sending their message to Michigan legislators loud and clear.
They silence female legislators from speaking out in opposition to the Mega-Bill? We'll make vagina the talk of the summer.
They prevent over 90 women from testifying against legislation that will directly affect them? We'll pay you a visit on the Capitol lawn with Eve Ensler and 5,000 of our supporters in tow and grace you with a performance of The Vagina Monologues.
They want to play doctor by making medical decisions for Michigan women? We'll solicit your stellar medical advice by finding 1000 ways to ask about menstrual cramp relief in 140 characters or less.
We won’t stop standing up (and dancing) in support of women’s health. Please join us.
If you can’t make it to the Capitol on Sept 20, send a message to Michigan Governor, copying key politicians. Tell lawmakers not to put politics over women’s health.
By Merissa Kovach, Field Organizer and Maggie McGuire, Communications Associate
