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By Paula Thornton Greear, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan
With just one week left in our lame-duck session and an incoming presidential administration hostile to our most fundamental freedoms and hell-bent on revenge, Michigan’s legislative leaders must act now. In the two years since the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade, Michiganders have worked tirelessly to protect and expand reproductive rights. Now, we face perhaps our greatest challenge yet: an authoritarian administration determined to dismantle these protections.
The threats ahead are clear and immediate. The Trump Administration is poised to move quickly, slashing federal funding for family planning services that thousands of our most vulnerable residents rely on for basic health care – from preventive care and STI testing to life-saving cancer screenings and birth control. We expect direct attacks on mifepristone, one of the two medications used in medication abortion, which accounts for 63 percent of all abortions nationwide. These actions would devastate health care access in Michigan and across the country – and this is just the beginning.
Michigan can fight back by passing urgent legislation to strengthen our state-level protections. In the last two years, Michigan has made incredible progress, but with a power shift coming in Michigan’s House of Representatives, the clock is quickly running out. Here are seven critical steps our lawmakers must take while there is still time:
1. Ensure Contraception Equity for All Michiganders
Michigan must remove barriers to contraception access, regardless of a person’s insurance status or where they live. The proposed legislation would require insurers to expand coverage, minimize costs, and cover a 12-month supply of contraception upfront. Critically, it would also allow pharmacists – not just physicians – to prescribe birth control and emergency contraception to people who need it, dramatically expanding access, especially in rural and underserved communities.
The bills under consideration are: HB 5013 (Rep. Julie Rogers); HB 5435 (Rep. Stephanie A. Young); HB 5436 (Rep. Kara Hope); SB 973 (Sen. Mary Cavanagh); SB 974 (Sen. Jeff Irwin); and SB 987, SB 988, SB 1006 (Sen. Mallory McMorrow).
2. Update Michigan’s Outdated Sex Education
Michigan’s sex education requirements haven’t been updated in 20 years – before the growth of sexting, cyberbullying, dating apps, or medical advancements to prevent HPV and HIV. New legislation would ensure students receive comprehensive, inclusive, medically accurate, and age- and developmentally-appropriate education while updating school district Sex Ed Advisory Boards to ensure that at least half of the members are parents; at least two are students in the district; and the rest are qualified educators and community health professionals. These community boards will continue to have the flexibility and final say on which specific curricula and materials are used in schools as long as they meet the state’s standards.
The bill under consideration is: HB 6068 (Rep. Rachel Hood).
3. Make Access to Accurate IDs Easier for All Michiganders
Transgender and nonbinary Michiganders face unique challenges related to state-issued IDs. Outdated documents that don’t match their gender presentation can inadvertently “out” them, putting them at risk of violence or discrimination. Ensuring that trans and nonbinary people can continue to easily and affordably update their state documents will help them live more safely and freely. This legislation would codify into law the legal opinions made by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel, ensuring that future officeholders cannot reverse them. The provisions would streamline the name change process by waiving newspaper publication requirements and removing barriers that presume fraud while allowing Michiganders to designate their sex as female, male, or “X” for nonbinary or intersex on driver licenses, state IDs and birth certificates without requiring additional documentation, gender-affirming surgery, or a physician affidavit.
The bills under consideration are: HB 5300 (Rep. Laurie Pohutsky); HB 5301 (Rep. Emily Dievendorf); HB 5302 (Rep. Felicia Brabec); and HB 5303 (Rep. Helena Scott).
4. Protect Black Mothers and Babies
The statistics are unconscionable: Black Michiganders die in pregnancy and childbirth at rates more than four and a half times higher than white women, and Black infants are three times more likely to die than white infants. These rates place us 30th in the nation for maternal mortality, 33rd for infant mortality, and 35th for neonatal mortality. Black Michiganders deserve better.
The Momnibus package is a multifaceted solution to this complex crisis, and when passed, it will improve perinatal health by addressing systemic racism and other social determinants of health. The package of bills will strengthen processes for reporting obstetric violence and racism; amend the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act's definition of "sex" to include pregnancy and lactation status; require hospitals to allow pregnant people to bring a support person and a doula with them during birth; and follow the patient's wishes regarding life support, regardless of their pregnancy status. Additionally, the package will license freestanding birthing centers, reimburse midwifery care, and remove barriers to education for midwives and doulas through loan reimbursement and scholarships.
The bills under consideration are: SB 818, SB 819 (Sen. Erika Geiss); SB 820, SB 821 (Cavanagh); SB 822 (Sen. Sarah Anthony); SB 823 (Sen. Stephanie Chang); SB 824 (Sen. Sylvia Santana); SB 825 (Anthony); SB 826 (Chang); SB 827 (Santana); HB 5636 (Rep. Laurie Pohutsky); HB 5826 (Rep. Mai Xiong).
5. Safeguard Michiganders’ Health Care Records and Privacy
In the age of digital surveillance, protecting reproductive health data is crucial. The Reproductive Health Data Privacy Act would protect both Michiganders and those who travel here for care by strengthening control over sensitive health information.
This important bill would require consent before collecting reproductive health data, establish clear legal standards for when and how this data can be collected, enforce stricter regulations on third-party data sharing, and block disclosure to government agencies without a warrant, legal mandate, or patient request.
The bill under consideration is: SB 1082 (McMorrow).
6. Remove Barriers to IVF and Fertility Treatments
Every Michigander deserves the power to decide how to grow their families, no matter who they are, where they come from, or how much money they make. Yet for countless people, the overwhelming costs of IVF and other fertility treatments put their dreams of building a family out of reach. When passed, these bills will require insurance coverage for fertility treatments like IVF, ensuring the financial burden of these medical procedures never stands between Michiganders and their hopes of becoming parents.
7. Guarantee Paid Family and Medical Leave
Nobody should be forced to choose between caring for their family and paying their bills, but most workplaces don't provide adequate paid leave. These bills would establish a paid family leave program for Michigan workers, create healthier and more prosperous communities, and level the playing field for small business owners by helping them compete for talented employees. The program would be funded through a statewide insurance pool rather than by individual employers, lifting the burden off small businesses that couldn’t otherwise afford to provide this benefit to their staff.
When passed, the bills will allow eligible employees up to 12 weeks of paid leave to address their personal health, care for a loved one, welcome a new child into their family, or grieve the death of a loved one.
Michigan stands as a beacon of progress in stark contrast to states controlled by anti-abortion politicians who are determined to move backward in time, erode their residents’ most fundamental freedoms, and politicize our very identities.
But we have just one week left to fortify these freedoms. One week to act before we face a presidential administration determined to dismantle reproductive freedom. One week for our state legislators to prove that Michigan will continue to stand firm against these attacks. Michiganders, we need you to ask our state legislators to embrace this moment and do everything they can to give us a fighting chance against the incoming administration’s attacks. What we do in the next week will echo for years to come.
Ready to take action? Contact your legislators today and urge them to pass these important bills before time runs out.
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