Enacted in 2010, the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (later amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act) sought to reform health care in the United States. There were numerous provisions passed with the act, one being the requirement of all health care plans to offer contraceptive coverage for women. Prior to the passage of the Act this had not been required, and employers who opposed contraception for religious reasons did not have to offer a health care plan to employees that provided this. With the passage of the Act this is no longer the case, and only in very few circumstances can exemptions be made to the law. The Act also required each state to create a state-based exchange and created a tax credit for those who use the exchange to purchase insurance. In Michigan policy makers have since examined the impact this Act will have on the state and the development of the State's exchange, with much attention focused on the issue of elective abortion. Two bills have been proposed in the Michigan Senate (SB 612 and 613,) both seek to prohibit the coverage of elective abortions. Instead, these bills would create an optional rider program that women could choose to ‘buy into' for coverage of elective abortions. Senate Bill 614 furthers these bills by forbidding reimbursements from being accepted for an elective abortion, unless they it was so from an optional rider program. This bill also would establish a fine of up to $10,000 for those in violation of the bill, and gives power to the Department of Licensing and Regulatory affairs to investigate suspected violations.

After the highly publicized trial of Casey Anthony, a 25-year old single mom from Florida who was acquitted of murdering her 2-year old daughter Caylee, many states have been attempting to legalize “Caylee’s Law,” to strong opposition.

The bill was proposed after Casey Anthony failed to report her daughter Caylee missing. Caylee was reported missing in June 2008 by her grandmother, 31-days after having last seen her. Caylee was found dead in December 2008, in a wooded area near her home.

Michigan legislature has passed a partial-birth abortion ban, modeled after the federal version of the ban in place since 2003, which makes it illegal for a woman to seek an abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy unless her life is in danger.

John Eynon: Tell me a little bit about yourself and Equality Michigan.

Roland Leggett: Ok well my name is Roland Leggett; Iʼm the director of field organizing here at Equality Michigan. Equality Michigan is Michiganʼs only statewide LGBT focused advocacy organization so there are a couple of different areas that we focus or specialize in. We have a victim services department that focus on supporting the community around issues relating to discrimination, hate crimes, to any sort of thing relating to that particular field. We also have a policy director who works out of Lansing and works on moving the dial legislatively in regards to LGBTQ issues. Thereʼs myself who is the director of field organizing; Iʼm kinda the grass roots guy, so public education, volunteer coordination, local advocacy, all those things I specialize in.
The overreaching goal that we have at this point - so the organization has a strategic plan that incorporates all these different moving parts in addition to a communications department and obviously a development department so we can fund it - all these moving parts are moving towards a goal at the end of five years of amending Elliot Lawson, the stateʼs civil rights law to include gender identity, sexual orientation, and gender expression. So thatʼs our main goal. Weʼre doing all these things over the next five years both locally and legislatively and with community advocacy with that being our main goal.