Michelle D. Anderson

Midwest Region Reporting Fellow

Michelle D. Anderson was formerly the Midwest Region Reporting Fellow at Rewire. Her reporting has previously appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Village Voice, Education Week and MLive.com, among other publications. She is based out of Detroit, her hometown. Contact her at anderson.michelle@rewire.news.

After Suicide Attempt, Chelsea Manning Faces Indefinite Solitary Confinement

Michelle D. Anderson

“Now, while Chelsea is suffering the darkest depression she has experienced since her arrest, the government is taking actions to punish her for that pain. It is unconscionable and we hope that the investigation is immediately ended and that she is given the health care that she needs to recover,” said Chase Strangio, an ACLU staff attorney.

Remaining Charges Dropped Against Officers in Freddie Gray Case

Michelle D. Anderson

Gray, who was Black, died of a neck injury a week after being taken into police custody in April 2015. The 25-year-old’s death led to widespread protest and civil disobedience against racial injustice and a number of reforms in Baltimore and across Maryland.

Parental Notification Law Struck Down in Alaska

Michelle D. Anderson

"The reality is that some young women face desperate circumstances and potentially violent consequences if they are forced to bring their parents into their reproductive health decisions," said Janet Crepps, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights. "This law would have deprived these vulnerable women of their constitutional rights and put them at risk of serious harm."

#FreedomNow Protests: Police Union ‘Protects Violent Officers’

Michelle D. Anderson & Federal Judge Blocks Fetal Anomaly Law From Going Into Effect in Indiana

In New York City, activists called attention to the role the union plays in preventing police accountability. The activists called for the firing a police officer who fatally shot 37-year-old Delrawn Small while off duty in a road rage incident on July 4.

Another Acquittal Handed Down in Freddie Gray Case

Michelle D. Anderson

Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams said prosecutors failed to prove the elements of the crimes and wanted him to rely on "presumptions or assumptions.”

Reproductive Justice Groups Hit Back at RNC’s Anti-Choice Platform

Michelle D. Anderson

Reproductive rights and justice groups are greeting the Republican National Convention with billboards and media campaigns that challenge anti-choice policies.

Activists Seek Justice as Verdict Looms for Officer Involved in Freddie Gray’s Death

Michelle D. Anderson

Freddie Gray, 25, died from spinal cord injuries in April 2015, a week after police arrested and took him into custody. Last year, Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby brought criminal charges against six of the officers involved with his arrest. Since then, three officers' trials have been completed without convictions.

ACLU of Indiana Sues State Health Department, County Prosecutors Over Ultrasound Law

Michelle D. Anderson

The official digest language for the law says that pregnant patients considering an abortion “must be given the opportunity to view the fetal ultrasound imaging and hear the auscultation of the fetal heart tone” at least 18 hours before an abortion.

Missouri GOP Claims ‘Sloppy Record Keeping’ Could Indicate Planned Parenthood Wrongdoing

Michelle D. Anderson

Though the senate's Republican-led Interim Committee on the Sanctity of Life stopped short of outright accusing Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri (PPSLR) of selling fetal tissue, its members pointed to what they called "serious gaps" in the affiliate's record as an indication of potential wrongdoing.

Federal Judge Blocks Fetal Anomaly Law From Going Into Effect in Indiana

Michelle D. Anderson

Judge Tanya Walton Pratt of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana granted a preliminary injunction against the law's final disposition and sex, race, and genetic anomalies ban on Thursday, just a day before the law was to take effect.

Michelle D. Anderson

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