This op-ed originally appeared in PrideSource on 8/29/25
A president should not bully health care providers at the expense of the people they exist to serve.
Amid silence from all but a few of our state and federal political leaders about Michigan Medicine's disheartening decision to end gender-affirming care for patients under the age of 19, Michigan’s attorney general issued a strong admonition, a reminder that our state civil rights law protects against "refusing health care services to a class of individuals based on their protected status."
Why has Michigan Medicine's dismaying decision been met largely with silence by our elected leaders? Maybe they have interpreted political polling to say that they should talk less about the rights of transgender people. Maybe they aren't particularly knowledgeable or comfortable with gender-affirming care. Maybe they have absorbed the rampant and constant misinformation about gender-affirming care. But none of those things should matter when their role is to serve the people of Michigan, consistent with our state laws.
Gender-affirming care is legal in Michigan. Our state civil rights law provides protections for people based on gender identity. Most fundamentally, health care is a decision between a doctor, a patient and a patient's family if the patient is a minor. The government does not and should not enter into highly personal and individual decisions about medical treatment made by doctors, patients and families.
As we look toward 2026 elections in Michigan, it's important that those elected to the role of governor, attorney general, secretary of state and the state legislature recognize and are willing to use the power that they have to protect the rights and liberties of the people of Michigan against unrelenting attacks from the federal administration. Our right to vote empowers us to ensure that whoever is elected to those important seats is committed to a vision for our state that embraces the promises of our state and federal constitutions and where everyone lives fully and safely.
The Trump administration's attacks — and echoing attacks from the Michigan House of Representatives — are purposefully targeted to erode fundamental rights for everyone by focusing on those groups most vulnerable to violations of their civil rights and civil liberties. It is no mistake that the Trump administration has most explicitly and heavily targeted transgender people and immigrants to narrow the scope of rights that protect us all.
The Trump administration is targeting groups where they know people are more likely to carve out exceptions to justify their silence. But here's the thing: Our unwillingness to stand up for people out of discomfort, misunderstanding, fear or a sense of false security about our own rights or the rights of people whose experiences we are more familiar with fuels the erosion of fundamental rights for all of us. Our struggles for justice, equality and democracy are connected. The loss of fundamental rights such as due process, privacy or bodily autonomy for any person will impact every person in this country.
We are not powerless — we are powerful together. We can band together in defense of our collective rights at the foundation of our democracy. But we cannot afford to carve out exceptions for who deserves the protection of the rights in our constitution. The promise of our constitution must be for everyone or it is for no one.