Todd Heywood's blog | RH Reality Check

More Michigan Teens Becoming Infected with HIV

by Todd Heywood, New Journalist Fellow

December 1, 2009 - 7:00am (Print)

Michigan teenagers continue to become infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, at an alarming rate, Michigan health officials say.

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Michigan State Lawmakers Question Terrorism Charges for HIV-positive Man

by Todd Heywood, New Journalist Fellow

November 10, 2009 - 9:08am (Print)

An HIV-positive Macomb County man is facing charges created under Michigan’s 2004 terrorism laws for biting another man in a neighborhood scuffle. That, HIV advocates, state lawmakers and legal experts say is “cowardly” and “nonsense” and increases ignorance and stigma surrounding the virus.

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Michigan Legislator Calls for Repeal of Gay Marriage Ban

by Todd Heywood, New Journalist Fellow

November 6, 2009 - 6:00am (Print)

Following up on a June surprise, Michigan House Speaker Pro Tem Pam Byrnes on Wednesday announced she had introduced legislation to roll back a 2004 constitutional amendment which bans same-sex marriage in the state.

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Michigan Corrections Officials Push Change to Policies on HIV-Positive Prisoners

by Todd Heywood, New Journalist Fellow

November 5, 2009 - 6:00am (Print)

A Michigan Department of Corrections official confirms that the department is seeking changes to a controversial policy barring HIV-positive prisoners from working in food service jobs.

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Stupak Will Vote for Reform Even With Abortion Coverage

by Todd Heywood, New Journalist Fellow

October 29, 2009 - 6:00am (Print)

Congressman Bart Stupak says that while he is leading the charge to eliminate abortion care from both private and public insurance policies, he will support health care reform legislation even if he loses.

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Michigan HIV Activists Angered by No-Consent Testing Legislation

by Todd Heywood, New Journalist Fellow

October 19, 2009 - 1:38pm (Print)

Legislation pending in Michigan sparks worries about health insurers denying coverage to those infected and tested without their knowledge.

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Is a Drunk Shaming and Sexual Assault Case in Michigan Part of a National Trend?

by Todd Heywood, New Journalist Fellow

October 13, 2009 - 8:34am (Print)

A police report from Meridian Township, Michigan detailing an evening of troubling incidents among a group of Haslett Public Schools teachers “drunk shaming” may be but one example of a much broader problem.

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More Than 150,000 Marchers Demand End to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," Passage of Hate Crimes Laws

by Todd Heywood, New Journalist Fellow

October 12, 2009 - 12:42pm (Print)

Lt. Dan Choi at the National Equality March: "The era and the time for asking is over. I am not asking anymore I am telling... will you tell with me? In the face of injustice and in the face of the discrimination, patience is not a plan."

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Even at Rally to End AIDS, Stigma is Present

by Todd Heywood, New Journalist Fellow

October 11, 2009 - 11:02am (Print)

"I ain't going to no rally for AIDS," he loudly opined. His friend empahticaly concurred.

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Thousands Rally in Washington D.C. for Gay Rights

by Todd Heywood, New Journalist Fellow

October 11, 2009 - 10:53am (Print)

Thousands of Americans are in the nation's capitol today to demand full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The National Equality March which is the brain child of San Francisco organizer Cleve Jones and media mogul David Mixner, will feature a march through the nation's capitol, past the White House and conclude at the lawn of the Capitol building.

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