News & Commentary

Last Thursday, Republican Representative Bruce Rendon introduced HB 5711, a piece of legislation that takes every attack on women's health in Michigan and combines them into the greatest assault on reproductive rights in Michigan history.This dangerous attack is moving rapidly and is scheduled to go before the House Committee on Health Policy tomorrow at 9 am.These bills endanger nearly all aspects of reproductive health care by targeting doctors and creating expensive regulations in the hopes of shutting down health centers that provide abortion services. Here’s a breakdown of just what this bill includes:Requiring politics, not medicine, in the examination roomJust like the coercive abortion act that we've talked about before, HB 5711 would require that doctors question women for evidence that they are being coerced into having an abortion.Though supporters claim this bill would protect women, it offers no protection to women coerced into continuing an unwanted pregnancy. It would also institute mandatory “coercion screenings” for all abortion-seeking women, creating another step in the already lengthy process of obtaining an abortion in Michigan.Preventing women in rural areas from accessing careConsidering that 83% of Michigan counties have no abortion providers, it is essential that doctors are able to prescribe abortion drugs through a telephone consultation. Studies have shown that the practice of using telemedicine is safe, effective, and often the best choice for women living in rural areas far from health care providers. However, HB 5711 would require a physician’s presence for abortions via the use of prescription drugs, regardless that such travel and time away from a job is impossible for women already in dire economic circumstances.Burdening abortion providers with new and expensive regulationsAnti-choice legislation often attempts to ensure that abortion care providers lose their licenses and for clinics to be shut down by creating costly, unnecessary and cumbersome rules and regulations. HB 5711 includes several such regulations including:

The other night I attended the West Michigan Alternative Prom, sponsored by Fountain Street Church. As I walked into the gym, I saw a group of diligent young folks sitting around the table, talking and laughing, having just finished decorating for the prom.I tottered to the kitchen balancing my cake-donation, and my ACLU literature in my hands and thought how fun the evening would be for everyone. Who doesn't like a prom?I attended the chaperone meeting where we discussed safety, our assigned stations, and different responsibilities for the night. And then I took my place behind my ACLU table and watched the students arrive.As they arrived in their gowns and suits, I became aware of a slowly creeping realization. This isn’t just some cute, rainbow-decorated event. This is some serious stuff.There were some issues outside that evening – kids coming by, harassing the LGBT kids. A team of security guards were there, donating their evening to keeping these kids safe. I was struck that even a sweet and innocent prom celebration was marked with an awareness of the bigotry these kids face every day. I realized that although I was just lending support for the evening, these kids are doing what so many busy, stressed, self-absorbed adults don’t have the courage to do.They are living lives of authenticity, right here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They are taking a stand for believing in the legitimacy of who they are and living it out, despite a world full of hatred and discrimination.The kids inside spent the rest of the night dancing their hearts out, enjoying themselves. I drove off to dinner with friends and talked about my evening, and lessons (hopefully) learned.

I never thought I'd have an opportunity to see the U.S. Supreme Court hear arguments in Washington D.C.Yet, instead of thinking of what an honor it was or how much history that room had seen, I couldn't stop thinking of the lives of young men and women back in Michigan. Young people whose lives hang in the balance, lives that may not have another chance. I had an opportunity to attend the U.S. Supreme Court as the Justices heard oral arguments in two cases that will decide the future of life in prison without the possibility of parole sentences for juveniles. The courtroom was packed and many had camped out the night before in order for an opportunity to hear Bryan Stevenson, from the Equal Justice Initiative, plead the case for eliminating the practice of sending young offfenders to prison for the rest of their lives with no hope of rehabilitation or freedom.I can still feel the electricity in the room, the sense that this was an historic moment. If the justices are convinced by Stevenson’s arguments in Miller v. Hobbs and Jackson v. Alabama, the futures of more than 2,600 individuals currently serving juvenile life without parole, or JLWOP, sentences could change decidedly. This may be the last time they have such a promising hope of a future where their growth, maturity and individual circumstances matter.Critics of the movement to end JLWOP caution that if you take a life, you should be held accountable. True. In recent weeks, I've attended rallies for the movement to get justice for Trayvon Martin, the Florida teen who was gunned down for being black in the wrong neighborhood at the wrong time. No one can deny that there is nothing more brutal than murder, and there nothing more precious than life.Yet the science is clear, and points to the reality that children lack the ability to reason and fully understand the consequences of their actions. Holding a teen who could not completely understand what he was doing accountable for his actions doesn't demand the same punishment as an adult offender. In fact, these punishments exacerbate already tragic situations. Victims and their families suffer shattering loss, and so do young offenders and everyone who loves them... and so do you and I.Society bears the cost of proving food, shelter and health care for these teens for long years of their prison sentence. For the 30, 40, 50 or more years they sit in prison waiting to die, millions are spent that could have gone to education and perhaps saving another troubled child from falling into crime.Like most people from Michigan, I cringe each time I hear someone announce the rankings of "worst states," fearing that we will be included. You might be shocked to hear that Michigan ranks Number 2 in the nation, behind only Pennsylvania, when it comes to the number of children we have sent to prison for the remainder of their lives. There are currently 359 inmates serving JLWOP sentences in our state's prisons.The justices are expected to render a decision by the end of June. In court, the argument was made that the unique legal status of children should not be ignored in a criminal context when it is recognized and protected in all other areas of law. This means that if we recognize that children don't have the mental capacity to drive, vote or drink then we can't act like they are the same as adults just because they've committed a crime. Stevenson also argued that mandatory sentences of life in prison amount to cruel and unusual punishment when applied to children.Here in Michigan, we will continue ratcheting up our advocacy efforts aimed at changing our state’s JLWOP sentencing laws while we wait for the Supreme Court's decision. It is time Michigan changes its approach to sentencing children.We need people who think that children deserve a second chance. Please contact us to join our effort to end JLWOP sentencing by emailing us at JLWOP@aclumich.org 

While visiting a cousin, Luis Valdez and his mother were assaulted and illegally arrested for no reason other than the color of their skin.One of the officers even told Luis, an American citizen, that he had no rights.From Arizona to Michigan, innocent people are being intimidated, harassed and illegally detained based on nothing more than how they look or the sound of their accent.Racial profiling is not only unfair and un-American, it distracts police from solving crimes with real facts and evidence.So why is Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette urging the U.S. Supreme Court to make racial profiling a legally-acceptable police practice?As our state's principal legal officer, the Attorney General should know that racial profiling is bad news for Michigan. Allowing officers to harass people based on stereotypes has a devastating impact not only on innocent families but on our state’s economy and our police departments’ ability to fight crime.Permitting racial profiling would mean that a simple family visit or a run to the grocery store could turn into a trip to jail for innocent people. This is not the Michigan that you or I want to live in.Fairness and equality are the most fundamental values we share as Americans. There's nothing fair or equal about arresting citizens and trampling on their rights because of the color of their skin or their ethnicity.That’s why with your help, the ACLU of Michigan is fighting discriminatory laws and biased police practices across the state, representing people like Luis and his mother.Attorney General Schuette thinks it’s alright for innocent people to be harassed, intimidated and arrested for no reason other than who they are.Learn more about issues you care about and take action: become a member, subscribe to our email action alerts, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook. 

What made police handcuff and assault a young man and his mother, although they'd committed no crime? Does Wal-Mart think that corporations don't have to follow state law? What appalling practice did our supporters and a coalition of human and civil rights group bring to an end in Michigan? Michigan

Becoming a U.S. citizen was one of my proudest moments. I'll never forget the way that I felt raising my right hand and taking the oath to this country. I felt that I was part of something bigger than myself; I felt that I was a part of a community and that I was finally equal to every other American. That feeling was short-lived for me and my family. In February 2011, I confronted the harsh reality that many others in the Mexican-American community face — racial profiling. While driving a company van, I was stopped by a Michigan State Police officer. The officer said I had run a red light. When the officer came to my car, I handed him my Michigan chauffeur's license, yet the officer was more interested in my immigration status. I repeatedly told him I was a citizen. He didn't care. He went to his car to look up my record and when he returned, he told me to get out of the car and that I was going to be deported. The officer had called Customs and Border Patrol. My car was impounded; I was handcuffed and driven to an empty parking lot to wait for CBP officers. I couldn't understand why this was happening to me. I felt worse than any criminal, because a criminal knows that when he's arrested it's because he's at fault. He knows he has to pay for something he did wrong. But I did nothing wrong. I'm not a criminal. I pleaded with the officer to listen to me — to believe that I was telling the truth. "I am a citizen," I told him. But it didn't matter. I offered to show him my social security card. He refused to look at it. Finally CBP officers arrived. They looked at my record, confirmed that I was telling the truth and I was let go. I never received a ticket for my traffic violation. I would have preferred that the officer just have issued me a ticket rather than interrogate me about my citizenship, call me a liar and threaten to kick my butt. The ticket would have been much easier to explain to my children than racial profiling. I believe in the opportunities and dreams the U.S. represents. I believe in the promise of equality and justice for all. And as I thought more about this experience, I realized that I couldn't just ignore what happened because there are others just like me who are harassed, arrested and, at times, deported for no other reason than a police officer's perception of what a citizen should look like or sound like. I came to the ACLU of Michigan for help and they sent a letter to Michigan State Police on my behalf asking for answers and an internal investigation. A few days later, I sat in the ACLU's office while the police's internal investigator asked me to tell my story. That was another proud day, because I knew that I had made a difference. Although I still believe in the promise of equality, I know that I have to speak out to make sure it's a reality for me, my family and my community. No American should be made to feel like a criminal simply because of the color of their skin or language abilities. This is the third of eight blog posts in the series "I Am Not a Stereotype: End Racial Profiling Now" on ACLU's Blog of Rights. Key News and Documents Past News | ACLU Urges State Police to Investigate Racial Profiling Incident More Info | Know Your Rights When Encountering the Police, Immigration or the FBI More Info | Immigration Law Reform  

When so many women of my generation believe we live in a post-feminist world, the prevalence of sex-based wage discrimination in the United States sounds like an absurdity.Today, Equal Pay Day, serves as an important reminder that the widespread belief that gender discrimination in the modern workplace is nonexistent is far from the truth.Almost 50 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women still make only 77 cents on average for every dollar earned by a man. The figures are even more dismal for women of color – in 2010, African American women only earned approximately 62 cents and Latinas only 54 cents for each dollar earned by a white man.

Victory! Sexually abusive searches of female prisoners abandoned This week, with the help of our supporters and a coalition of civil and human rights organizations, we've confirmed that the Michigan Department of Corrections has ended a routine and extraordinarily degrading body cavity search for female prisoners. “There was no reason to make this incredibly invasive procedure part of the routine strip search,” said Mie Lewis, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Women’s Rights Project. “The new policy eliminates the worst aspects of the body search, helping to preserve these women’s dignity while maintaining a safe prison environment.” Just because people are incarcerated doesn't mean that they should be denied their basic human rights. We are happy that the women at the Huron Valley Correctional Facility can visit with their lawyers, priests and children without being traumatized. Legislator

Shortly after the New Jersey legislature passed its marriage equality bill earlier this year, I drafted a letter to Gov. Chris Christie.Many around the country did the same to urge the Governor to sign the bill into law.How could I not?In part, I wrote:"I am compelled to let you know that denying anyone the right to marry is not a battle that young people are willing to fight. My peers, both Republicans and Democrats, don't view homosexuality as any less than heterosexuality.”Before I could even put a stamp on the envelope, Gov. Christie vetoed the bill.