Donald Trump is the likely candidate for the 2024 Republican Presidential nominee. But what would another Trump presidency look like for women?
An Anti-Abortion Agenda
A potential Trump administration could have far-reaching impacts on abortion restrictions across the nation. Ever since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the fight for reproductive healthcare has become a major political issue. The issue of abortion has previously driven voters to the polls in battleground states like Michigan; protecting abortion rights could end up being the issue that turns the election in Biden’s favor.
Trump has continuously bragged about his responsibility in overturning Roe v. Wade: “For 54 years they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I did it and I’m proud to have done it.” Over his four years in office, Trump appointed three of the nine current Supreme Court Justices, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, and appointed over 200 judges to the federal bench. This change has had far-reaching effects on the nation as the judges have driven many court decisions to the extreme right, causing women’s health care protections to be completely rolled back or highly restricted in over half of the United States.
Women would feel the effects of increased reproductive rights restrictions during another Trump presidency. Over the course of his current presidential campaign, and his four criminal indictment trials, Trump has not been open about what his specific goals for the future of abortion access in America are. However, it has recently been revealed that Trump supports a 16-week national abortion ban. In the past, his election campaign has been heavily funded by anti-abortion groups. For example, his campaign received a $52 million donation from The Susan B. Anthony List Super PAC in 2020.
These same anti-abortion groups are planning out their agenda for Donald Trump to enact if he takes office again in 2025. One item on their agenda is bringing back a 2019 Trump administration policy, which critics call the “Title X gag rule.” The rule previously banned Title X-funded clinics from using their funds to counsel or refer patients to an abortion clinic. This cut off low-income populations from basic women’s health care services and reduced the clinic’s ability to provide contraceptives by more than half. Biden eliminated this restriction, but the return of this policy would mean even stricter limits on access to contraception. This would be devastating as many states already face abortion bans.
With just 10 months until the American people vote in the 2024 election, abortion access is still under threat. Trump’s past actions show that he will severely reduce the rights of women and their ability to access reproductive services, creating a nation with increased gender inequalities.