(Lepanto Institute) — In 2021, we published a report on several Tennessee organizations receiving funding from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). The various organizations were involved in some degree in the promotion of abortion and/or LGBT ideologies. MICAH was caught as a member of Power Together Tennessee, which had taken a formal position in full support of abortion, contraception, homosexuality, and transgenderism. That report can be viewed here.
Over the course of the last three years, MICAH has received two grants for a combined total of $100,000; $50,000 in 2022-2023, and $50,000 in 2023-2024.
In this update, we find that the president of the organization is a radical proponent of abortion and LGBT ideologies.
The president of MICAH is Rev. Dr. Rosaylin Nichols.
Rosalyn Nichols is quite vocal in her support for abortion.
On March 1, 2025, Nichols posted a message falsely claiming that if one cannot obtain abortions, one may die.
On June 27, 2022, Nichols called SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas’ suggestion that the Supreme Court should overturn previous decisions legalizing homosexual “marriage” and birth control “disgusting.”
That same day, Nichols compared losing access to abortion with losing one’s Miranda Rights.
On May 18, 2022, Nichols decried the criminality of abortion after rape as a part of the “war on women.”
On May 18, 2022, after the SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked, Nichols posted a meme declaring that “men shouldn’t be making laws about women’s bodies.”
On May 15, 2017, Nichols posted a podcast that attempts to make a theological defense of abortion.
But Nichols isn’t just a social media advocate for abortion. In 2014, as the head of “Freedom’s Chapel Christian Church,” she joined Planned Parenthood in publicly opposing a constitutional amendment to the Tennessee state constitution which added the words: “Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion.”
In addition to being fully pro-abortion, Nichols is also a big advocate for homosexual “marriage,” and other LGBT related issues.
On November 10, 2025, Nichols celebrated the Supreme Court’s denial of Kim Davis’ challenge to the constitutional protections for “marriage equality.”
On April 5, 2025, Nichols reposted a video shared by the pro-abortion National Organization for Women celebrating a woman “misgendering” a senator to make a point about an “anti-trans” bill.
But it’s not just the president of MICAH who is involved in the promotion of issues directly opposed to Church teaching. The executive director, Ayanna Johnson Watkins participated in a workshop directed toward the defense of abortion as a “right” and openly supports LGBT ideologies, including homosexual “marriage.”
On June 29, 2023, just days after the Dobbs Supreme Court decision overturned Roe v. Wade, Johnson participated in an online conference titled, “Love is an Action Word: Reproductive Justice.” The description of the conference says:
“Joined by Disciples leaders from across the life of the church including Angéle Saunders Johnson, Rick Lowery, Stephanie McLemore, Ayanna Johnson Watkins and Robyn Bles will explore themes related to the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade.”
The video of the portion containing the interview with Watkins can be viewed here.
In the opening segment (0:42 – 1:24), Robyn Bles, the host of the program, summarized the purpose of the discussion by saying:
“As we gather together tonight, we are mindful of the recent one year mark since the Monumental Dobbs versus Jackson Supreme Court decision. the Dobbs decision, as it’s most commonly referred, overturned the Roe versus Wade decision, which protected abortion as a part of a holistic approach to reproductive Health Care. Roe stood as a protective right and a precedent for nearly 50 years, albeit with varying State restrictions and access. Now, one year later, we gather as a church to faithfully look at the implications and the real life repercussions of the Dobbs decision.”
From the 37:25-42:19 marks in the video, Rick Lowrey argues that from a biblical standpoint, human life begins and ends when a person starts breathing, meaning that human life begins at birth, not prior to it. Following this, he argues that the law established in Exodus pertaining to the penalty associated with a man who accidentally causes a miscarriage in a woman while fighting with another man is a matter of property, not life.
Watkins joined the conversation after Rick Lowery’s segment, and in addressing the theological disagreements regarding abortion, said, “thank you Rick for just laying that out for us and giving us some clear things to really digest.” A minute later, addressing the Dobbs decision, she called it a “moment where we find ourselves again having lost more rights to our bodies and the right to make decisions about our bodies.” In discussing the impact on the closure of abortion clinics that provide “other” services being shut down due to the laws restricting abortion, Watkins then turned the conversation to community organizers offering degrees of resistance. She said:
“but also I see organizing happening. There is a new-ish Tennessee group that is formed now around fertility and reproductive justice that’s operating here. Sister Reach operates here as well and does organizing at the state and federal level. And so this is what always happens, right. I see it as the remnant, whenever. Yeah, evil tries to crush a whole movement, but the remnant will re-emerge and organize.”
It must be noted here that the organization she referenced here, Sister Reach, is an organization fully committed to fighting for abortion as a “right.“
In the end, beginning at the 1:15:00 mark, Watkins summarized her position by expressing it all as a matter of individuals making medical choices for themselves, and that if abortion access is to be limited, then there must be an increase of public resources to subsidize poor families:
“what I can say is, every human being has a right to decide and get the best to get the best medical care they want, they can, for the things that ail them. Right, we can get to that. It can become a health care problem, it can become an economic problem. If we’re going to limit abortion, then where is the expansion on economic support for folks who are financially struggling and trying to raise a family now that they knew they couldn’t afford.”
On June 24, 2018, Watkins expressed her pride in her boss’ participation in a St. Louis Pride Parade.
On March 27, 2013, Watkins expressed her support for homosexual “marriage.”
On June 25, 2012, Watkins posted a picture of a child wearing a sticker that says, “Obama Pride. LGBT for Obama.” In her own comment, she wrote, “Pride Parade 2012!”
Conclusion
Our previous report on MICAH showed that it violated CCHD grant guidelines through its membership in a coalition that advocated abortion and LGBT ideologies. The current evidence shows that the leadership of MICAH is thoroughly committed to abortion and LGBT ideologies. Because of this, there is no way it could possibly be worthy of Catholic funds.
Republished with permission from the Lepanto Institute.
