Throughout Donald Trump’s presidency thus far, it is no secret that many women feel personally offended by his comments on women. However, his disrespect is not limited to his words; it is also evident in the policies he is attempting to push. Although these new policies may be pushed to look like an increase in security and efficiency of our country, the effects are just the opposite when you look closely. Specifically, when looking at underprivileged women who are simply trying to feed their family or even receive reproductive care.
According to the 19th Amendment, women, after years of hard work, have received the right to vote. However, using the SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act, women around the country are affected after changing their last names when divorced or married. If this law were to pass, it would affect 69 MILLION women and their right to vote, simply due to their name that appears on their ID. This is a hard pill to swallow for some, especially considering women have felt pressure to take their husbands’ last name since the beginning.
Although housing prices and the cost of living are affecting everybody in America, some of the people struggling the most are underprivileged women with children. As the Trump administration slashed BILLIONS of dollars from the SNAP fund, millions of Americans now must struggle to find their next meal. There are also countless hurdles that women must jump through to receive SNAP benefits, and many women have even been refused the benefits. When women’s snap requests are pushed back and take forever, it only leads to children and entire families being hungry. So, the SNAP program helps so many people provide food for their children and family, yet slashing it is only protecting the wealthy?
One of the most talked-about issues in the past few years has been the discussion on whether women “deserve” to receive reproductive healthcare as needed. This includes but is not limited to cancer screenings and even receiving birth control. So, since the overturning of Roe V. Wade, you would think birth control would be more accessible, considering if you cannot raise a child, you’re forced to now? Since his second term began, the trump administration has actually frozen the Title X family planning, which is how so many Americans can have access to healthcare. For context, this program was started in 1970 and has been used for STD testing, birth control access, and general health services by millions of Americans for over 50 years now. They say What’s broken don’t fix it, but clearly the Trump administration has an alternate agenda.
Circling back to the overturning of Roe V Wade, the trump administration has also altered the law that requires doctors to perform emergency procedures. Now, it is not required, by law, for doctors to perform emergency abortions when it is a matter of life or death for the mother. This is unfathomable for women who may be anxious when it comes to pregnancy. In one situation, a woman named Adriana Smith was pronounced brain dead, yet her body was kept on life support for months just to deliver the baby. This should not be a controversially discussed event, as women should never be kept as essentially as an incubator. This shows that it is not about the people being affected and that women everywhere are receiving unfair health care depending on their pregnancy status.
After being exposed to all of the misogynistic rules that are being enforced by our president, it makes one think of how this can eventually be avoided and solved. While Trump is busy putting up walls for women to have to climb over, as a society, we need to find ways to make these things accessible. Women and children should not have to suffer in multiple ways for our country to run smoothly.