If you can’t be in Lansing for Lobby Day, you can show your support virtually from wherever you are. Today, November 5th, Planned Parenthood supporters from across Michigan are gathering in Lansing to show the Legislature that they stand with the healthcare organization and the vitally important healthcare services they provide. Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan (PPAM) is holding the […]

Between a nationwide protest on Saturday and a pledge from lawmakers to keep digging for evidence of wrongdoing, the healthcare organization faces ongoing scrutiny. Facts are facts, but opponents of Planned Parenthood won’t let a little thing like the truth get in their way. Instead, they’d rather keep wasting taxpayer resources and harassing patients seeking legal healthcare services. As Chris […]

While anti-choice activists try to fight the truth with misinformation, it’s imperative to defend the facts. This post is not about abortion. It’s about people’s health and lives. I’m not shying away from the fact that abortion is a legal healthcare service, and that it accounts for 3 percent of the services Planned Parenthood provides. No one is denying that […]

There are an inordinate number of rumors swirling around the state at the moment, all of them unconfirmed. I don’t typically dabble in reporting about rumors but it seems silly to ignore things like this that are being widely talked about in various circles. The first rumor is probably the biggest potential bombshell if it turns out to be true. […]

To call their stubborn refusal to listen to the public “tone deaf” is an understatement. On Tuesday, three vocal opponents of marriage equality visited Michigan — a state where a recent poll shows strong support for legalizing same-sex marriage. New state-based polling data from the Public Religion Research Institute shows that Michigan voters favor marriage equality by an overwhelming margin: […]

Sneaking this hearing in on a historic day for the LGBT community is dirty politics. Take action to make sure testimony opposing RFRA legislation gets heard. It’s hard not to be cynical about the timing of the Michigan Senate committee hearing on “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” (RFRA) legislation on April 28th. The same day DeBoer v Snyder, the case for […]

Senate Families, Seniors and Human Services Committee to meet on bills that would allow adoption agencies to refuse placement of children based on religious objections. Once again, the Michigan Legislature isn’t wasting any time moving forward with bills that could hurt Michigan children and families, and the voices of Michiganders who oppose faith-based discrimination need to be heard. On Wednesday, […]

The numbers reflect the growing popularity of the ACA and the success of outreach efforts. Due in large part to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka Obamacare, America’s uninsured rate has dropped to 11.9 percent, the lowest level since Gallup and Healthways began tracking it in 2008. More Americans under age 65 now have self-funded insurance – in fact, nearly […]

This isn’t about religion. It’s about faith in humankind. I’m not a religious person. I’m spiritual — Buddhist-inspired — but not religious. But I have faith. I have faith that people are better than what we are seeing in those who would use religion as a license to discriminate. Laws like the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) passed in Indiana […]

The package of bills would let taxpayer-funded adoption agencies deny adoption based on moral or religious beliefs. Speak out against discrimination today. Michigan Republicans seem hell-bent on passing as much religious-based discrimination legislation as quickly as possible. By Wednesday, the House will vote on a package of bills that would let faith-based adoption agencies deny an adoption placement based on […]

If past experience is any indication, some healthcare services will no longer be available. This is the second in a multi-part series on the rise of Catholic health systems and the impact on patient care. You can read the first post in the series HERE. Refusal to treat patients on religious grounds in Michigan has made national news recently, with […]