Trump’s relentless attacks on women’s rights have impacted our healthcare, workplaces, families, and our freedom from discrimination. Here are the ways Trump is aiming to take us back:
Taking away our healthcare.
Trump, along with a Republican-led Congress, has repeatedly attempted to undermine the Affordable Care Act, even stripping protections from people with pre-existing conditions. Thankfully for the millions of people who have come to rely on the ACA, these attempts failed. Still, the administration has issued new rules that weaken the ACA’s mandate that birth control be covered by employer-provided health insurance. The rules–which are being challenged in federal court–would allow some employers to deny coverage for birth control due to religious or moral beliefs. That’s right. Trump would allow your boss to have a say over your birth control based merely on their personal convictions. If implemented, the rules could impact up to 127,000 women.
Reversing progress for campus survivors of sexual assault.
The Trump administration proposed a major rollback of Title IX protections for survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment. This includes narrowing the definition of sexual harassment, allowing institutions to require a higher burden of proof for survivors and even gives the alleged perpetrator the right to cross examine their accuser. Prior to the rules taking effect, there is an open 60-day public comment period that wraps up on January 28, 2019.
Putting women’s lives at risk around the world.
Trump reinstated the Global Gag Rule, which denies U.S. aid to any NGO’s that provide abortions–or even those that merely provide information about abortions. Past Republican administrations have done the same, but Trump greatly expanded the policy’s reach to include more types of international aid than at any time in history. Already, the policy has had a devastating impact. Clinics offering vital healthcare and HIV treatment to women and families in the most vulnerable regions in the world are being forced to close.
Defunding proven teen pregnancy prevention programs.
Trump is increasing funding for programs that promote an abstinence-only approach to teen pregnancy prevention while simultaneously decreasing requirements that measure the effectiveness of such programs. This is despite reports demonstrating that teen pregnancy has reached an all time low, partially a result of Obama’s approach that prioritized evidence-based programs. The shift will result in less teens learning critical information to prevent both sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy.
Discriminating against transgender people.
The administration rescinded protections for transgender students that allowed them to use the bathroom aligning with their gender identity, and they banned transgender people from serving in the U.S. Military. Now, the Trump administration is reportedly pushing for the Department of Health and Human Services to develop such a narrow legal definition of sex that it will effectively deny the existence of transgender people along with the vital Title IX regulations that protect them.
“Women have one of the great acts of all time. The smart ones act very feminine and needy, but inside they are real killers. The person who came up with the expression ‘the weaker sex’ was either very naive or had to be kidding. I have seen women manipulate men with just a twitch of their eye — or perhaps another body part.”
– Donald Trump, Trump: The Art of the Comeback
Supporting dangerous abortion restrictions.
In addition to appointing two anti-choice Supreme Court justices, Trump backed a dangerous 20-week abortion ban bill that passed the House in 2018 by a narrow margin. Fortunately, the legislation was shut-down by the Senate
Abandoning women’s rights on the international stage.
The Trump administration has reduced U.S. State Department reporting on women and LGBT rights violations globally. Reporting for women’s rights is down 32% and for LGBT rights it’s down 21%, as the U.S. State Department fails to document attacks on these intersecting groups.
Undermining efforts to end the wage gap.
Trump suspended an Obama-era rule that required companies to report employee wages and salaries based on gender and race, allowing the federal government to identify pay discrimination.
Separating children from their families.
The Trump Administration implemented a “zero tolerance” policy that separated children and their parents at the border for any families deemed to cross the border illegally. Although public outcry led to the policy being reversed, thousands of families are facing significant and irreparable trauma and many have yet to be reunited.
Attacking immigrant families and those seeking asylum in the U.S.
On Trump’s watch women and children seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border have been tear-gassed. He has threatened to impose a fee for people seeking asylum that will not be waived if the individual cannot afford to pay, and he’s proposing the reinstatement of the “public charge” policy. The policy would deny a path to citizenship to any immigrant who at any time uses public services like Medicare or SNAP (food assistance). The policy will undoubtedly be most harmful to children in need, forcing parents to forgo vital healthcare and food for fear of losing asylum or legal status.
“We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in — and we’re stopping a lot of them — but we’re taking people out of the country. You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are. These aren’t people. These are animals.”
– Donald J. Trump