Our newly inaugurated president, Donald Trump, is known for being against abortion. He believes that abortions are immoral and a form of murder, and that an embryo or fetus is a human being. As many know, in his previous presidency, Trump defunded planned parenthood and appointed justices to the Supreme Court who later overturned Roe vs. Wade. But what has he done to reflect his previous actions, and what does it mean for US citizens?

One of Trump’s first orders when he got into office this year was to enforce the Hyde Amendment. The Hyde Amendment is a series of laws which prevents taxpayers from funding abortions. During his presidency, Biden put two orders in place that got around the amendment by essentially categorizing abortion as healthcare, which allowed tax dollars to fund it. He also put laws in place that made states fund abortions as a part of family planning. Trump rescinded these laws, which effectively made getting an abortion impossible for many US citizens. 

He signed and led many other countries to sign the Geneva Consensus, which aims to “to protect life at all stages.” Similarly, Trump reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which prevents US tax dollars from funding abortions internationally. He also stopped funding the United Nations Population Fund—an organization that believes that all pregnancies should be chosen and supports the right of a woman to have an abortion. Trump is the first president to participate in the March for Life—an annual protest that believes “[abortion] is the most significant human rights abuse of our time.” The March for Life organization believes that life begins at conception, and they even consider morning after pills to be unethical. 

Trump’s actions constitute a slippery slope of rights being taken away from American women, potentially leading to a nationwide illegalization of abortion.However, Trump is leaving the leadership of each individual state to decide their stances on abortion. 

Abortions have  already been banned in 12 states. Some of these states have exceptions, but only in extreme cases, such as preventing the immediate death of the pregnant person. Many more states only allow abortions in the first six weeks of pregnancy. This is so early that some women do not even know they are pregnant yet. Nevertheless, abortion bans do not necessarily mean that women will stop getting abortions. What they do mean is that women will stop having access to safe abortions. 

Aside from the entirely valid reason of simply not wanting a baby, there are many reasons a woman may need an abortion. Reasons include financial and personal issues that may hinder them from being able to properly care for a child. There can also be medical reasons why it may not be safe for a woman to deliver a child, such as how some women who are actively miscarrying, as well as  women who could die during childbirth, are being denied healthcare. In fact, so many women need abortions for myriad reasons that according to Planned Parenthood “nearly one in four women in America will have an abortion by age 45.” 

According to Planned Parenthood, one woman from Texas shared her story about how she and her husband found out that their child had severe heart defects at a 20 week ultrasound. Doctors told them that the child would not survive and would have a painful life for however long he lived. Her and her husband ultimately made the decision to abort the child. Another woman from California said “I simply wasn’t ready to have a child.” A girl from Georgia was being abused from ages 8-17, and got pregnant at 15. 

Carrying a child to term is time consuming, emotionally draining, expensive, and full of risks—even for the safest pregnancies. Many women did not even choose to be pregnant. It is the woman’s body, so it should be the woman’s choice. Many women in the US have been affected by President Trump’s abortion policies, in need of help. But what can we do to help? We can donate to those in need or to abortion clinics, we can protest, and we can stay informed and educated about abortion rights. Some organizations we can donate to are: National Network of Abortion Funds, Northwest Abortion Access Fund, and Chicago Abortion Fund. Other organizations to support are American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Reproductive Rights, and Abortion Care network.