Before state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D) held a seat in Michigan’s House of Representatives, she was a microbiologist paying close attention to the lack of evidence-based approach in her state government. 

In 2017, Pohutsky decided to run for office in Michigan, largely in response to the 2016 election. Today, she’s an advocate for reproductive freedoms in the state. 

In February, Pohutsky spoke to hundreds of her constituents gathered at the steps of the Michigan Capitol as a part of the 50501 Movement, a national organization aiming to coordinate 50 protests in 50 states on the same day against the Trump administration’s attack on democracy. 

“The protest itself was really incredible. I think a lot of us didn’t know what to expect. … It was really cold. It was during a work day, and the turnout was incredible. There were a lot of people here. They were very engaged. They were very involved. And that made me feel really hopeful about where we are as a state going forward,” said Pohutsky. 

We have somebody in the Oval Office that is treating it like a dictatorship, and we have people in institutions that are falling in line as though that’s totally normal.

Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Mich.)

The Trump administration’s early actions include a long list of executive orders targeting immigrants, educational programs, DEI, women and the LGBTQ+ community, all of which were motivating factors for 50501’s first protests that took place across the U.S. on Feb. 5. President’s Day protests followed after. 

“We have somebody in the Oval Office that is treating it like a dictatorship, and we have people in institutions that are falling in line as though that’s totally normal and it should go unchallenged. I think that that is really the biggest concern for people, because there’s a framework that protects the American people from what’s happening, but it has to be followed.”

Pohutsky noted that elected officials following the rule of law is important to her constituents. Fears that President Trump and his administration would stray from the rule of law were already brewing before Inauguration Day; 49 percent of registered voters said that Trump is a fascist, according to a national ABC News poll published in October of last year.  

At the anti-Trump protest, Pohutsky shared publicly for the first time that she recently underwent voluntary sterilization, ensuring that she would never have to navigate a pregnancy under the Trump administration. 

“With the election and some of the executive orders that were coming down, the urgency sort of got dialed up,” said Pohutsky in regards to the timing of her surgery. “I decided to share what I had decided to do and why I had decided to do it so that people who were in a similar position wouldn’t feel alone, that they would have a sense of validation.”

After Pohutsky went public with her decision and the reasons behind it, she received significant backlash and threats online. Despite these negative reactions, Pohutsky said that her message “landed where I wanted it to.”

“All of the negative stuff that came along with it, frankly, has made me feel more validated in my decision and the timing with which I made it. But also that matters less than it resonating with the people that it needed to and that makes all of the other negative aspects of it worth it.”

“In my conversations with people in my circle who are also considering undergoing a sterilization procedure, I had heard a couple of things: One, appointments were filling up very, very quickly. A friend of mine is waiting for several months even for her consultation. The other thing is, I think women tend to second guess themselves. I have caught myself doing this, and I’ve caught other people that I care about, sort of musing to themselves whether or not this was an overreaction or if the timing needed to take into account the political shifts that we’re seeing.”

I decided to share what I had decided to do and why I had decided to do it so that people who were in a similar position wouldn’t feel alone, that they would have a sense of validation.

Rep. Pohutsky

Given the current political climate around reproductive freedom, Pohutsky is working to secure rights in Michigan with a state level FACE Act. The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act), which protects abortion providers and criminalizes those who threaten clinics, was placed under attack during Trump’s first few days in office when he pardoned 23 antiabortion extremists convicted of clinic invasion and violence. 

“Between the overall attitude towards abortion access and reproductive freedom writ large, and then the pardons of people who were making threats to and blocking access to abortion centers and abortion providers, I think that that’s going to be very, very important, because I don’t trust that to be upheld at the federal level,” said Pohutsky. 

The state-level FACE Act will likely have a difficult road ahead in the majority-Republican State House, but Pohutsky acknowledged that they are doing “everything we can to get it across the finish line.”

Moving forward, Pohutsky encouraged people to take care of themselves so that they can stay engaged and participate in things like the 50501 protests. 

“If there are going to be times where… our courts are not going to uphold the Constitution, then we need to expose that… We need to demonstrate that these systems are failing us.”