By Marie Lowry

Five years ago, a friend from church asked if I’d go with her to stand watch at a metro Detroit abortion clinic – not to harass the people seeking care, but to help protect them. It was a life-changing experience. 

I’ve always considered myself a feminist, and am definitely pro-choice, but was never heavily involved in the issue of reproductive freedom. Then I saw the wide diversity of people coming in for an abortion and began hearing their varied stories. Doing so deepened and strengthened my determination to protect their right to access a legal abortion.  

I’ve returned week after week after week, month after month, year after year, because of the overwhelming gratification I get from helping people obtain the care they desperately need. And now, with the U.S Supreme Court Decision overturning Roe v. Wade, I’m all in on the effort to protect abortion rights in Michigan by amending the state constitution. 

We can do that by passing the ballot measure Reproductive Freedom for All (RFFA) in November. 

As a clinic escort, one of the things I’ve learned listening to those we refer to as the “antis” shout at people seeking an abortion, is how deeply rooted in misogyny the opposition to reproductive freedom is. Many of these people simply hate the idea that women aren’t being subjected to a patriarchal hierarchy that denies them the autonomy to control their own bodies. 

We cannot allow that mindset to prevail in Michigan. Which is why, along with continuing to volunteer as a clinic escort, I also volunteered to help place RFFA on the November ballot by collecting petition signatures. That effort was an overwhelming success. With the help of volunteers from across the state, we were able to turn in an unprecedented 753,759 signatures – more than 328,000 than needed to put this measure on the ballot! 

Those of us who helped collect those signatures saw firsthand the level of enthusiastic support for amending the state constitution to explicitly affirm the right of Michiganders to make decisions about abortion, birth control, miscarriage care, and childbirth without politicians interfering. 

As someone who has spent much time talking with people getting an abortion, I can tell you that the reasons for doing so are as diverse as the people coming in to have the procedure performed. I’ve met people from all walks of life and every sector of society. The one thing they have in common is deciding that an abortion is what’s best for them and their families. Meeting them all, and hearing their many different stories, has only strengthened my resolve to make sure that all Michiganders continue to be protected by a right that has been guaranteed for the past 50 years. 

We cannot go back to a time when people were forced to carry an unwanted or dangerous pregnancy to term. 

The first step toward ensuring that reproductive freedom is maintained in our state was to collect enough valid signatures to get on the ballot.  Thanks to the effort of coalition partners, volunteers, and supporters in the medical community, that has almost certainly been accomplished. 

Now, we need to take the same energy and determination used to collect signatures and focus our efforts on securing victory at the ballot box. For that to happen, the army of volunteers who helped get us to this point must now start gearing up for what will certainly be a hard-fought campaign. 

People will be needed to knock on doors, stuff envelopes and make phone calls to help educate the public about the issues and turn out the vote. We also know that protecting our rights by mounting this campaign carries a financial cost. Contributions from people like you and me will help assure we have the resources needed to win. 

So, I’m encouraging people who want to volunteer or make donations to go to mireproductivefreedom.org, where they can get details about how they can help. 

This isn’t just a fight we can win. It is a fight we must win.  

When our state’s Supreme Court ruled this week that the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) covers LGBTQ+ people, I thought about the civil rights hero Aimee Stephens, the Michigan resident who played a crucial role in paving the way to this historic victory . 

I only wish Aimee was alive to see it. 

Fired after coming out as a trans woman at the metro-Detroit funeral home where she’d long worked, Aimee decided to fight back. In a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, ACLU lawyers representing Aimee asserted that firing a person because of their transgender status was illegal. Two years ago, in a decision covering three LGBTQ+ related cases collectively referred to as Bostock v. Clayton County, the Court ruled in Aimee’s favor, deciding that discrimination of LGBTQ+ in the workplace does indeed violate federal law. 

The landmark victory set new legal precedent. Sadly, Aimee, who valiantly battled debilitating kidney disease while also engaging in her years-long court battle to secure the rights of all LGBTQ+ people,  died before the Court rendered its decision. 

But her legacy lives on. Compelling proof of that can be found in the Michigan Supreme Court’s (MSC) precedent-setting decision in Rouch World LLC v. Michigan Department of Civil Rights. 

That case, which has far-reaching implications, directly involves three members of Michigan’s LGBTQ+ community and two businesses: Rouch World, which rents out its property in Sturgis for weddings and other gatherings, and Uprooted Electrolysis in Marquette.    

Michigan’s LGBTQ+ Community Now Protected 

After Rouch World refused to let a lesbian couple use its facility for their wedding, and Uprooted refused to provide electrolysis services to a transgender woman, the people being denied service filed complaints with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR), alleging sex discrimination in a public accommodation.  The businesses then sued MDCR, arguing that the agency could not investigate them because LGBTQ+ people weren’t protected against discrimination under Michigan’s civil rights laws.    

The ACLU of Michigan and others subsequently joined the fray by filing a detailed “friend of the court” brief supporting the state’s case. Signaling the issue’s critical importance, a large number of Michigan advocacy groups including Affirmations, Equality Michigan, LGBT Detroit, Trans Sistas of Color, Stand with Trans, Out Front Kalamazoo, and Out Center of Southwest Michigan joined us in submitting the brief.  Also signing on were such national groups as the national ACLU, Human Rights Campaign, National Center Lesbian Rights, and Freedom for All Americans.   

The MSC agreed with us. In doing so, it became the first state supreme court in America to apply the Bostock decision to a ruling on its state’s civil rights laws and the protections they provide LGBTQ+ people. In doing so, the stage has been set for other states to follow our lead. 

It is a remarkably uplifting decision. Capping decades of work, LGBTQ+ people in our state now have the undisputed right to  live their lives free of discrimination – by government agencies, employers, landlords and private businesses -- based on their sexual orientation. 

The Road Ahead 

A significant part of the reason we’ve been able to achieve this success is because of the path blazed by Aimee. Her courage and tenacity created an inspiring legacy.  

Along with our gratitude to Aimee, we also owe her legacy our continued commitment to protecting LGBTQ+ rights. It is hard to understate the importance of the state Supreme Court’s decision, and the positive effect it will have on the lives of people throughout our state. But the work is far from over.  

Political attacks on our community don’t just continue – they are increasing. The trans community in particular is subject to increasingly hostile attacks by politicians attempting to capitalize on bigotry and ignorance.  

So, let’s celebrate both this incredible victory and the memory of Aimee Stephens. And then join us in doing what she’d want next, which is to roll up our sleeves and get back to work protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people in Michigan.