Activist
Fisher decided to be open about her HIV status, and after the Detroit Free Press published her story in February 1992, she was invited to speak at the 1992 Republican National Convention in Houston, Texas. There, she urged the Republican Party to handle the AIDS crisis and those living with HIV with compassion in her speech, "A Whisper of Aids". In 1995, The New York Times credited Fisher, along with Elizabeth Glaser, who spoke on her experience with AIDS at the 1992 Democratic National Convention, with having "brought AIDS home to America." "A Whisper of AIDS" address has been featured in rhetorical texts including the framed Chambers Book of Speeches. After that appearance, Fisher created a support group for families affected by AIDS and healthcare workers, the Family AIDS Network, and continued speaking as its representative, promoting education, prevention and acceptance of those with AIDS. In October 1992, President George Bush appointed her to the National Commission on AIDS to replace basketball star Magic Johnson. Fisher spoke again at the 1996 Republican National Convention in San Diego, California. Fisher did not return for the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; she was replaced by fellow AIDS activist (and "abstinence-only" proponent) Patricia Funderburk Ware.
In 1999, Fisher made news when she, like some other HIV-positive people, decided to stop taking anti-HIV medications which she felt were hurting her quality of life. Fisher was convinced that the hostile effects of these medications were not only disrupting her own life but also impacting the well-being of her own family as well, preventing all of them from leading fulfilling lives. Despite these challenges that she faces, Fisher remains under the vigilant care of her physician. She undergoes regular monthly testing to carefully track the level of the virus persisting in her bloodstream, in addition with the status of her immune cells. The diligent monitoring on Fisher underscores her commitment to managing her health condition effectively and making certain that she can continue to prioritize her responsibilities as a parent for her children.
But she and her doctors continued to try new drug combinations and, by 2001, were able to suppress the virus without unmanageable side effects. Finding medications that could prolong healthy life marked a turning point, Fisher said in a 2007 More magazine interview: "For years it was waiting to die, and then it was turning everything around and trying to figure out how to live."
Fisher expanded her AIDS activism from public speaking into writing, art and international advocacy. She founded the non-profit Mary Fisher CARE Fund, based at the Center for AIDS Research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, to support clinical AIDS research and promote public education about HIV/AIDS medicine and policy. She serves on the leadership council of the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS, and with other HIV-positive women has toured the United States to raise awareness about the disease.
Fisher's international work has focused on Africa and especially Zambia and Rwanda, where she has led fact-finding tours and promoted income-generation projects to employ HIV-positive women. She has taught African women to create handmade jewelry which is then sold online and in U.S. galleries, with profits returned to the women artisans.
