However you might define him, this man is who he is. This is part of a story series about the lives of transgender people. Read the introduction here. Codie Stone isn’t big on labels. He accepts them as a fact of life in our society. But for Stone, what matters most is living his life authentically. He just wants to […]

House Bill 5674 is grounded in medical science and puts patient safety above religious ideology. A medical emergency is a dire situation, no matter who you are or what you believe. But when a patient shows up in the emergency room of a Catholic-affiliated hospital, she doesn’t know whether she’ll be treated based on established medical standards of care or […]

House Bills 4787 and 4830 are poor public policy that do nothing to protect women from the real problem of reproductive coercion. Let’s just say right from the start here that coercing a woman into having an abortion is a terrible thing no one should ever be able to do. That’s why there are laws already on the books in […]

One in six hospital beds are governed by rules set by Catholic bishops, not doctors, putting lives and health at risk. If Catholic health systems continue expanding their reach at the current rate, an alarming number of Americans won’t have access to the full spectrum of healthcare services considered standard of care at non-Catholic hospitals. In some cases, that lack […]

By pushing legislation they may not fully understand, lawmakers would be harming more than abortion providers. There’s a reason legislators should leave the medical decision-making to doctors and patients: medical care isn’t their area of expertise. And in their haste to appease anti-choice voters, Michigan legislators are pushing poorly written legislation that could have serious unintended consequences — including hampering […]

This transgender woman lived a double life for decades, but not anymore. This is part of a story series about the lives of transgender people. Read the introduction here. To the rest of the world, it seemed like Becky Veal had a life anyone would want. She supported her wife and their three children, served in the U.S. Army, and […]

As the mother of a transgender child, she is a fierce advocate for transgender rights. This is part of a story series about the lives of transgender people. Read the introduction here. Every parent hopes for a happy, fulfilling future for their children. Maybe they dream about what career they might pursue, or what their wedding day will be like. […]

This transgender woman is on a lifelong journey to express her authentic self. This is part of a story series about the lives of transgender people. Read the introduction here. It was the summer of 1964. Char Davenport, who was eight years old, was sitting with her father on the front porch. At the time, she says, she didn’t think […]

As both acceptance and animosity toward the transgender community grow, personal stories are essential to education and advocacy. This story series began, like most ideas, with a confluence of inspiration. With transgender people increasingly in the spotlight, their lives have become more visible — but not entirely visible. Many Americans only see what the public eye will allow. Celebrities like […]

House vote on ‘abortion coercion’ bills held to appease Right to Life. Supporters of choice have been wondering when the other shoe was going to drop on the deceptive anti-choice “abortion coercion” bills that passed out of the House Judiciary Committee in September 2015. That shoe hit the House floor on March 24, with a vote almost entirely along party […]

Response to ACLU lawsuit demonstrates, once again, that Catholic hospitals put ideology above patient safety. When you show up at an emergency room in need of urgent medical care, you have a reasonable expectation that you’ll be given the treatment you need — that the staff will do everything they can to save your life and protect your health. In […]