On Monday, Dec. 16, a young woman stood on top of the steps at the capitol building in Lansing, Michigan. To a silent, bundled crowd of high school students holding protest signs, she finished her poem. “Tonight, she is not asking what you’re going to tell your daughter; she’s asking what you’re going to teach your son,” she said.

Sam Torres, a student at Skyline High School, made the trip to Lansing on a frigid morning to protest the new abortion insurance with around 30 of her peers. This bill was enacted on Dec. 11 of 2013 when Right to Life of Michigan, a pro-life special interest group, gathered around 300,000 petition signatures to push it to a second vote in the state legislature. The measure, coined “rape insurance” by many, requires that women purchase an additional rider to cover payment for abortions, as it will no longer be included in standard health insurance plans, with no exception, for cases of rape. In other words, women will only be granted abortions if the birth is life threatening unless she selects to purchase the additional abortion plan. Ultimately, it was the implementation of this bill and the negative effects it has on rape victims that inspired Torres to share the poem “Blue Blanket” by Andrea Gibson.

“When I heard it at this play that I went to, it really touched me and it brought me to thinking that [rape] is real,” she said. “People go through this. Girls, daughters, women, sisters, they go through this and it’s just sick.”

The issue of rape was not the only reason Torres decided to come to Lansing to protest the bill, though.

“I’m here today for what is right,” Torres said. “I’ve always felt that there’s something I can do to make change, and when I heard about this, I knew it was my chance to stand up for something I believe in and make a difference no matter how big it is.”

This is exactly what Sam Kennedy, another Skyline High School student, had in mind when she made a plan to organize her peers. Going off of a spur-of the-moment social media campaign, Kennedy and fellow student, Larkin Babbitt, sought to spread their voices at the public level.

“We organized a facebook group and got everybody together and brought them here,” she said.  “The legislators are on break right now, which is unfortunate, so they can’t see us protest directly, but I hope to raise awareness about this. It was passed really quickly through the congress so no one would really have any objections about it,” said Kennedy.

Kennedy and Babbitt communicated with the National Organization of Women to have a representative come and meet at the protest. Since Mary Pollock, a member of the organization, lives in Lansing, she agreed to help with the protest. Pollock notes that any successful political initiative starts at the local level.

“We’re the largest multi-issue feminist activist organization in the U.S. since 1966,” Pollock said. “We’re grassroots. We elect our leaders, including our president. I’m here today to support these wonderful folks from Ann Arbor who put us together to express their anger with the legislators action to pass the abortion insurance ban.”

The student-run protest, which commenced at the capitol building, received attention not only from crowds in the downtown area, but also from workers in the capitol as well. Senator Gretchen Whitmer recognized the efforts of the student protestors, but was unable to talk in person.

The protest then made its way through the town once more, highlighted by chants such as “What do we want?” “Reproductive justice!” “When do we want it?” “Now!”

The protesters occasionally received honks of acknowledgement from passing cars, smiles and thumbs up.

There is much more work to be done besides the protest, though, if the opposition is going to be successful. Pollock said that in order for change to be made, people need to get the word out. “We’re calling for everybody to light up those social media, emails and everything to tell others how you feel about this.” she said. “Get people thinking about it. A lot of people here didn’t even know this was occurring before it happened.”

But for the high school students who got to participate in their first-ever protests, it was a chance to make a difference, and have their voices heard.

Joshua Nacht, a student at Skyline High School, said he feels this single, teen-organized protest is a step in the right direction.

“With this protest, I want to let the public know that we are taking a stand against this law,” he said. “We’re taking a stand for freedom, we’re taking a stand for women, and we’re taking a stand for humanity.”