Nearly seven years after being fired for coming out as transgender at R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes in Garden City, Aimee Stephens has stayed strong in a legal battle for LGBTQ rights that has made it all the way the Supreme Court of the United States. Stephens undertook this fight despite facing health issues like breathing problems and undergoing dialysis. However, last weekend, Stephens' wife Donna shared that her wife had entered hospice.
"To all of Aimee's friends. It is with a sadden[ed] heart I must inform you that she has entered hospice care here at home," the post read.
Stephens' case could expand Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to definitively include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. However, an opposing decision would mean far more rigid interpretations of the existing law that would exclude thousands in the LGBTQ community. Historically, Supreme Court decisions affecting the LGBTQ community are made in June. It is unclear if Stephens will be able to see the Court's ruling.
"Please put her in your prayers," Donna Stephens wrote. "Her best friend and soul mate Donna."
