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Michiganders’ reproductive health care in jeopardy as Trump reshapes federal policy

By Kyle Kaminski

January 29, 2025

As Trump returns to power, Michigan’s largest abortion provider is bracing for new federal policies that could reshape reproductive health care across the state. 

MICHIGAN—Three years ago, Michigan voters made history by casting their ballots to enshrine their right to reproductive freedom into the state Constitution. But as President Donald Trump begins his second term, advocates are warning that federal actions could soon undermine the progress that Michiganders fought to achieve. 

And for Planned Parenthood of Michigan and its chief advocacy officer, Ashlea Phenicie, the stakes have never been higher as they brace for policies from the Trump administration that could threaten to upend access to essential reproductive health care for millions of women.

“It is very difficult to find ourselves in this place,” Phenicie told The ‘Gander. “With an administration so hostile to reproductive freedom taking the White House and many anti-abortion advocates now in power in Congress, we are deeply concerned that the advancements we’ve made here in Michigan could be overruled at the federal level.”

Trump 2.0 and Abortion Rights 

Ahead of Election Day, Planned Parenthood of Michigan and other abortion rights groups repeatedly warned of the threats that a second Trump term would pose to reproductive rights. It also emerged as a top campaign issue for Democratic candidates over the last two years. 

But those concerns are no longer hypothetical.  

Among those pardoned were convicted criminals who had targeted Planned Parenthood clinics—a move that could embolden anti-abortion extremism in Michigan, Phenicie said. 

“ These are not your run-of-the-mill protesters,” she said. “To violate the FACE Act, you would have had to have used physical force, a threat of physical force, or been physically obstructing the entrance to a clinic. So, this is deeply concerning to us from a safety perspective.”

  • In another executive order this week, Trump doubled down on a longstanding federal policy that bans federal funding—like Medicaid—from being used to pay for abortions. 
  • Trump also reinstated a federal policy that bans federal funding from going to any overseas nongovernmental organization that performs or promotes abortion care—a move that is expected to drive up unintended pregnancies, scale back family planning programs, and lead women overseas to seek unsafe (and often deadly) abortions.

Trump—at least so far—has stopped short of proposing any other concrete steps that would limit access to abortion on a broader, nationwide scale. But Phenicie is concerned that his administration is only just beginning to lay the groundwork for eroding more reproductive rights.

And even though the state Constitution now protects Michiganders’ right to access reproductive health care, it will not be able to shield them from federal policies that could be yet to come.

“We have been doing a lot of work to ensure that our patients and our providers are safe as we navigate this environment, but the message coming out of the White House is deeply concerning,” Phenicie told The ‘Gander. “We’re expecting this to be an uphill battle from here.”

Title X and the Trump Gag Rule

One of the most immediate concerns for Planned Parenthood of Michigan is the anticipated reinstatement of a federal policy that’s known as the “Trump Gag Rule,” Phenicie said. 

This rule, first implemented under Trump’s first term in 2019, prohibited Planned Parenthood—and other providers who receive federal funding from Title X—from providing or referring patients for abortion care, or even discussing abortion as an option for its patients. 

Because Planned Parenthood of Michigan refused to stop providing care, Trump’s order essentially forced it out of the Title X program altogether—costing the organization $8.6 million in program funding and leaving thousands of low-income patients across the state without care. 

When President Joe Biden reversed this rule change, Planned Parenthood of Michigan rejoined the Title X program—and thousands more women have taken advantage of the program since.

But based on Trump’s past actions, Phenicie and other reproductive groups expect his administration will once again look to restrict Title X funding, which would gut funding that’s used to provide things like birth control, STI testing, and cancer screenings for low-income patients.

“It would be disastrous for the patients in Michigan who count on Title X to get access to care,” Phenicie said. “There’s not a lot we can read in the tea leaves right now, but knowing that [Trump] did it in his first administration, there’s no reason to believe he won’t do it now.”

Planned Parenthood of Michigan is currently the largest Title X provider in the state, caring for more than 30,000 patients annually. Title X funding also provides about 50% of the organization’s family planning budget—and about 25% of its total revenue for patient care. 

In anticipation of federal funding cuts yet to come, Planned Parenthood of Michigan is banking donations to its Patient Care Fund to ensure low-income patients can continue to receive care.

“We were out of the [Title X] program for two years. And thanks to some very generous donors, we were able to mostly fill the gaps,” Phenicie said. “But as we look toward funding cuts over the next four years, maybe even more, there’s going to be a dire need for more support.”

Medication Abortion and the Comstock Threat

Another looming concern on Planned Parenthood of Michigan’s radar this year involves access to medication abortion, the most common (and preferred) option for terminating a pregnancy.

Those medications—mifepristone and misoprostol—account for the vast majority of abortions, including in Michigan, where all 14 of Planned Parenthood’s health centers offer the service, compared to only four clinics that provide more invasive, procedural abortions.

But Phenicie is concerned that additional federal regulations could upend Planned Parenthood’s ability to provide the same care—particularly if officials at the US Food and Drug Administration, under Trump’s direction, were to suddenly revoke approval of mifepristone or misoprostol. 

“If medication abortion is not available, access to abortion would be decimated across the state,” Phenicie told The ‘Gander. “It would be very difficult for our (four) health centers that do provide procedural abortion to absorb that many patients who would be in need of care.”

Plans to revoke FDA approval of abortion medication were spelled out in plain English on page 458 of Project 2025, the far-right blueprint for a second Trump presidency. 

On Page, 562, it also details a plan to use the Comstock Act to target abortion access—which would effectively result in a nationwide abortion ban without the need for new legislation at all.

That 19th-century law that bans the mailing of “anything designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion.” And anti-abortion groups want that interpreted to include abortion medication, as well as birth control and medical instruments used to provide abortions.

The Trump administration—at least so far—has not followed through with those plans. But if Trump were to order the US Department of Justice to take action, the law could effectively cripple reproductive health care for patients nationwide, including in Michigan, Phenicie said.

“Our legal understanding is that the Comstock Act should not be enforced,” Phenicie said. “However, knowing the Trump administration does not seem to be concerned about the constitutionality of its actions, we are worried about the enforcement of the Comstock Act.”

Hope Amid Uncertainty

Despite the challenges ahead, Phenicie remains optimistic about the power of advocacy and community support—particularly after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed several bills into law this month that strengthen access to birth control and other forms of reproductive health care.

“Our job over the next four years will be to hold this administration accountable for every attack on our reproductive rights and make sure that our communities know exactly what is happening,” Phenicie said. “Even if it isn’t something that’s impacting them in this exact moment, it could in the future. And it will impact their loved ones for generations to come.”

She added: “These times are difficult. Sometimes, it feels like you wake up, look at the news, and it’s just a gut punch. But what keeps me in this work is knowing that every day I go to work for an organization that really works to change the entire trajectory of a person’s life.”

Phenicie is also inspired by the next generation of advocates. 

Across Michigan, student groups are leading localized actions, from installing emergency contraception vending machines on college campuses to organizing grassroots campaigns—all in an effort to protect fundamental rights that could be on the chopping block under Trump.

“Young people advocating for themselves and their communities and making a tangible change is inspiring,” Phenicie said. “I’m excited to see what they do as they go out into the world.”

READ MORE: People are leaving states with abortion bans, study shows

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Author

  • Kyle Kaminski

    Kyle Kaminski is an award-winning investigative journalist with more than a decade of experience covering news across Michigan. Prior to joining The ‘Gander, Kyle worked as the managing editor at City Pulse in Lansing and as a reporter for the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

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