Local advocates offer a message of hope for Michiganders using services at Planned Parenthood

As every aspect of reproductive health care comes under attack from President Trump and his administration, Michiganders are fighting back. 

During a virtual town hall on May 1 hosted by Equality Michigan, a statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, Dr. Sarah Wallett, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood of Michigan (PPMI), said that while the Trump administration’s attacks on transgender and nonbinary communities have been relentless, they have not been unexpected.

“Unfortunately, we knew this administration would do everything in its power to dismantle access to gender affirming care, just as they have with reproductive health care in general,” said Wallett.

In the first 100 days of his second presidency, Trump has frozen federal Title X funding, the only federal family planning program in the US, restricted abortion access, threatened Medicaid, and made the country more dangerous for the LGBTQ+ community, women, and people of color. 

“It’s about control—control over our bodies, our choices, and our futures, and anyone who doesn’t fit their rigid, narrow worldview becomes a target,” said Wallett.

When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer updated the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) in 2023, she outlawed discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and education based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression. The amendment also outlawed Michigan companies from retaliating against employees who receive abortions, further baking reproductive freedoms into our state’s constitution. 

However, the protections that ELCRA provides haven’t stopped PPMI from receiving daily calls from clients worrying about the future of their health care. 

“They’re afraid that they’ll lose access to the care they rely on, afraid their insurance will stop covering it, afraid for their safety…and their ability to live authentically and securely,” said Wallett. 

Fighting for the future

While the next four years will be demanding and stressful for the LGBTQ+ community (as well as women, people of color, and other minorities of various socioeconomic status), Wallett says Michiganders must stand firm against every attack—and that PPMI will fight alongside them.

“If forced to choose between Medicaid and our trans patients, we will choose our patients,” said Dr. Wallett. 

“We are not going to comply in advance, we will not allow any threats to our funding dictate how we care for our patients. No matter what lies ahead, our mission is clear—to provide compassionate, inclusive, high-quality health care to everyone who needs it without exception and compromise.” 

Emme Zanotti, senior director of movement building and political affairs at Equality Michigan, said she was overjoyed with the number of folks who attended the town hall, who were willing to fight for transgender and nonbinary Michiganders.

“I’m humbled and floored by how our community has stepped up and continued to answer the call,” said Zanotti.

“When we have that information, it allows us to make decisions that can hopefully impact things on a broader scale,” she said, adding that, with Equality Michigan’s Statewide Advocacy Day and Pride Month only weeks away, there are ample opportunities for Michiganders to get involved and be part of that impact.

During the town hall event, state Rep. Emily Dievendorf (D-Lansing) said that Michiganders must continue to come together to support one another. 

“We are all serving purposes in our communities, and we’re going to come together to support each other right now to get through this moment until we get our government back,”  Dievendorf said. Dievendorf made history in 2022 when they became the first openly nonbinary member elected to the Michigan House of Representatives. 

“We’re going to do that by getting scrappy, getting creative, and building those networks.”