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INDEX
Vol. CXXX, No. 79
©2022 The Michigan Daily
N E W S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
STATEMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . 4
M I C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
O PIN IO N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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UMich forms task force in
response to potential state
wide abortion ban in Michigan
In response to the leaked Supreme Court draft
opinion, UMich takes action to protect rights to
an abortion for students
Content Warning: This article
contains mentions of sexual violence.
The
University
of
Michigan
announced
on
Wednesday
the
formation of a task force in response
to a potential statewide abortion ban
in Michigan.
A publicized draft opinion from
the U.S. Supreme Court indicates the
court could overturn the 1973 Roe v.
Wade decision, which established a
nationwide constitutional right to
abortion. This ruling would leave
decisions about abortion rights to
each state’s discretion.
The state of Michigan currently
has a 1931 law making abortion — in
all cases, including rape and incest
— a felony. Though the law is not
currently being enforced, it could
come back into effect should Roe
v. Wade be overturned. This law
is the subject of multiple lawsuits
seeking to protect access to abortion,
with one lawsuit being filed by
Planned Parenthood of Michigan
and another by Gov. Gretchen
Whitmer. A preliminary injunction
was recently issued by a Michigan
Court of Claims to prevent the 1931
abortion law from being enacted if
Roe v Wade were overturned.
In
an
interview
with
The
Michigan Daily, Interim University
President
Mary
Sue
Coleman
discussed
why
the
University
decided to create the task force.
“The specter of a complete
ban on abortion care in Michigan
is worrisome,” Coleman said. “I
strongly support access to abortion
care. We have a female-dominated
institution; we care about our own
communities as well as those we
serve through clinical care and
education. I am deeply concerned
about how prohibiting abortion
would
affect
U-M’s
medical
teaching, our research and our
service to communities in need.”
Coleman and Marschall S. Runge,
the executive vice president for
medical affairs, are leading the
formation of the task force. The task
force will include representatives
from several U-M departments,
including
Michigan
Medicine’s
clinical teams, the Medical School,
the Office of General Counsel,
Human Resources and University
Health Services (UHS).
According to the announcement,
the
task
force
also
includes
students and faculty from the LSA
departments of Psychology and
Women’s and Gender Studies, the
School of Information, the Institute
for Research on Women and Gender,
Library Health Sciences and more.
In an email to The Daily, Michigan
Medicine
Spokeswoman
Mary
Masson said more members will be
added to the task force overtime.
“The
task
force
includes
representatives
from
multiple
campuses, schools and colleges,
and multiple facets of student, staff
and faculty life,” Masson wrote. “As
needs continue to be identified, the
group will continue to grow.”
In the University’s announcement,
Michigan
Medicine
Professor
Lisa Harris said the task force will
consider ways to mitigate the impact
of federal abortion access being
overturned on Michigan Medicine’s
clinical training programs, which
include training centered around
abortion and reproductive care.
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Alzheimer’s Association holds
dementia caregiver support group for
U-M community
The Greater Michigan Chapter
of the Alzheimer’s Association
has a support group for dementia
caregivers who are students and
staff at the University of Michigan,
Eastern
Michigan
University,
Concordia
University
and
Washtenaw Community College.
The support group, conducted by
trained facilitators, aims to provide
a safe space for students and
staff with shared experiences in
dementia caregiving.
U-M
staff
Mallory
Martin-
Ferguson,
a
support
group
facilitator, said the support group
serves as a place where people
can share personal experiences
and firsthand accounts related to
caregiving for dementia patients.
“In theory, people might have
some shared experiences around
being
a
caregiver
and
really
recognize and understand the
challenges that (caregiving) brings
up for people,” Matin-Ferguson
said. “We wanted to do this group
specifically (for) faculty, staff and
students. (There is a) concentration
Students and staff at UMich who are also caregivers gather together
to offer support and guidance for one another
of folks who are experiencing stress
in the U-M community. We thought
(the support) would be really
beneficial.”
Martin-Ferguson
said
her
personal experience as a caregiver
drew her to volunteer as a facilitator
in the caregiver support group. Her
mother was diagnosed with early-
onset Alzheimer’s disease when
Martin-Ferguson was a graduate
student, and she attended some
support groups and found them
beneficial.
“(My mother) passed away years
ago, and I was feeling like now I
have the capacity and emotional
bandwidth to try to give back to the
Alzheimer’s Association,” Martin-
Ferguson said. “So I reached out
to see if I could be a support group
facilitator.”
Michelle
Phalen,
program
coordinator
of
the
Alzheimer’s
Association,
oversees
support
services throughout Southeastern
and
South-Central
Michigan.
According to Phalen, the group
was initiated in January 2021 and
operates virtually.
Phalen said they decided to create
a support group for students and
people working at the University
ANNA FIFELSKI
Summer News Editor
JINGQI ZHU
Daily Staff Reporter
who face stress as caregivers to
someone living with dementia.
Phalen said both staff and student
caregivers can experience many
challenges physically, emotionally
and financially.
“If you’re working or if you’re a
student, you’re going to have some
unique challenges with being a
caregiver, whether that is your
schedule and flexibility,” Phalen
said. “You probably have little to no
income. Trying to figure out how
to pay for care and things like that.
Those are all challenges.”
Phalen said she hopes the group
can be a comfortable place for
caregivers to share and receive
resources. Phalen also said that she
hopes caregivers can come to the
support group for advice on how to
approach conversations with their
supervisors about additional needs
they may require in their situation.
“It’s a lot to manage these
multiple responsibilities,” Phalen
said. “Just to have that conversation,
so (when) you have to maybe alter
your schedule a little bit, (people)
will be more understanding.
Design by Jennie Vang
Read more at MichiganDaily.com