With a Trump Presidency, Grave Threats to Reproductive Freedoms Expected
On both the domestic and international fronts, an anti-rights agenda risks progress made on gender equality, reproductive rights, and access to health care.
Nov 6th, 2024
While the country has yet to recover from the widespread damage to reproductive rights and access caused by the first Trump administration, it faces new threats under a second Trump term.
Because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling taking away the constitutional right to abortion—a ruling in which all three Trump-appointed justices voted with the majority—the U.S. is experiencing a public health crisis.
Since that devastating ruling, 17 states have banned abortion entirely or severely restricted it, leaving millions without care—especially in the South and Midwest. Obstetricians are fleeing those states since they can’t properly care for their patients—even those women facing life-threatening pregnancy complications. Maternal and infant deaths have increased since pregnant people are being forced to carry to term pregnancies with no chance of survival, at risk to their own health, fertility and lives.
Nancy Northup, President and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement, “Donald J. Trump’s election to become the 47th president of the United States is a deadly threat to the democratic values of liberty and equality, the rule of law, and reproductive health, rights, and justice in the United States and around the globe. Anti-rights extremists will soon be back in charge of the White House and the U.S. Senate, wielding power to the detriment of vulnerable populations and seeking to undermine decades of progress on gender equality, a linchpin of which is the ability of individuals to make decisions about their reproductive lives and have access to reproductive health care.” Read Northup’s full statement here.
Threats to Reproductive Freedoms from an Anti-Rights Administration
An anti-rights administration can strip away reproductive rights and health care access in many ways—using its powers to set domestic and international policy, appoint federal judges and officials, push through ideologically-motivated rules, issue executive orders, and much more.
Project 2025—a detailed plan outlining the anti-rights agenda—listed numerous strategies to limit abortion access and other reproductive services, many using federal agencies such as Health and Human Services (HHS).
A majority of Project 2025 contributors worked in the first Trump administration or on his campaign or transition teams—and many are expected to serve in a second Trump administration.
Extremists have outlined their plans to:
- End access to medication abortion—used in 63% of abortions in the U.S.
- Allow hospitals to deny emergency, life-saving abortion care to pregnant patients in crisis.
- Prosecute people for shipping and transporting abortion pills and supplies.
- Establish an abortion surveillance system, forcing states to report the personal details of all patients receiving abortion care.
- Restrict access to birth control, emergency contraception, and other reproductive health services.
- Embolden prosecutions, investigations, and lawsuits against abortion providers, patients, and their loved ones.
- Implement a global “gag” rule to deny funding for organizations providing abortion information, referrals or services in countries across the globe.
The Center for Reproductive Rights is Ready to Fight the Anti-Rights Agenda
The Center, along with its coalition partners and vast global pro bono network, will use its expertise in law and policy to fight the anti-rights agenda and vigorously oppose any attempts to roll back reproductive freedoms.
The Center will:
- Defend patients and providers targeted for investigation or prosecution, and bring litigation to challenge any misuse of the 1873 Comstock Act to block abortion access.
- Use administrative law and the courts to block harmful actions by HHS, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the State Department.
- Monitor dangerous policies and appointments, leverage oversight tools, and litigate if necessary to block harmful policies and protect access to care.
“The Center for Reproductive Rights is ready for this next fight,” said Northup. “We will scrutinize every action of the White House and federal agencies, amass the factual and legal record to counter agency actions, and work to stop harmful policies from going into effect. If they do, we will take them to court. We will vehemently fight any effort to pass a national abortion ban, to stop the provision of medication abortion by mail, to block women from crossing state lines to get care, to dismantle UN protections for reproductive rights and progress made at the national level in countries around the world, and more.”
Millions of Americans Voted in Favor of Abortion Rights
Despite Donald Trump’s victory, Americans came out to show strong support for abortion rights, approving amendments in seven states to enshrine those rights into their state constitutions.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated the constitutional right to abortion, voters in 14 states have come out in favor of abortion rights. Abortion has become a mainstream issue—and when people are given the chance to vote directly on abortion, they’ve shown they want their rights protected.
“The terrible harms of abortion bans have become clearer by the day—and they’ve helped to galvanize Americans to come out and demand their reproductive freedom,” said Elisabeth Smith, the Center’s Director of State Policy and Advocacy.
This article was originally published by the Center for Reproductive Rights.