What A President Trump Could Mean For The Future Of Women

With the recent debates about the funding of Planned Parenthood and the ongoing battle between pro-life and pro-choice advocates, family planning is a hot topic in politics during this election. The candidates have made their positions known, with the exception of Donald Trump, who just kind of confused everybody.

What He Said

During a town hall last Wednesday, when asked if there should be punishment “for the woman” who receives an abortion, Trump very clearly said “Yes.” Since Trump has been known as a pro-choice advocate, this change of heart was speculated to be a way to get conservative votes. However, the pro-life community was quick to call him out on not understanding what being pro-life is all about.

Later that day, he took back his statement and said that the doctors who perform the abortion should actually be the ones who are punished. It seems that he released the second statement because of criticism from voters and organizations who let him know that most pro-life supporters want what is best for the mother and the baby and would never want punishment brought upon mothers.

His back and forth behavior on this topic make him look extremely indecisive and easily swayed, only saying what he thinks voters want to hear. Many of his supporters claim that he always speaks his mind, but the only way that can be true in this case is if his mind changes every few hours. Let alone how all of this makes him look, the ramifications on family planning if Trump becomes president are frightening.

Sexist Behavior

Trump has been notoriously sexist and has treated women horribly in his past. Having such a sexist president means that women’s rights won’t be moving forward in the next four years, and they may even move backwards.

Some real quotes that Donald Trump has actually said about women include “women: you have to treat them like sh*t” and “that fat ugly face of hers”, among many others. His reason for these insults? He says he was joking. So does America want a president who thinks that making hurtful and horrible comments about women is funny? Is that somebody who will fight to improve women’s salary, protect women’s rights and fight for gender equality? It doesn’t seem that way.

Planned Parenthood

Trump made his views about the funding of Planned Parenthood known as well, as he suggested that Congress shut down the government instead of include Planned Parenthood in the spending bill. Planned Parenthood provides countless resources such as family planning, STI screenings, breast exams, counseling and community services. They do much more than perform abortions, but many people including Trump seem to be overlooking that.

Based on his past comments about Planned Parenthood and abortion, it is pretty clear that with Trump as president, Planned Parenthood will be defunded and will be forced to shut down. That’s thousands of people who need the services that they provide left without help and without the healthcare they need.

As a whole, women’s rights in this country are in for a rough four years if Donald Trump gets elected as president. Even though he seems very uncertain about his position in the abortion debate, one thing is clear: he is not a fan of women and will not help women advance in this country or fight for their rights as a president should.

Featured Image via Wikimedia.