The War on Women is in full force under the Trump administration. We refuse to go back, and we refuse to let the administration quietly dismantle the progress we’ve made. We are watching.
This is the War on Women Report.
Monday, 7/15
+ The Trump Administration announced a new rule Monday that would deny asylum to any immigrants who passed through another country on their journey to the United States, essentially barring asylum seekers from all countries except Mexico. The rule has since been challenged by various human rights organizations, like the American Civil Liberties Union, for allegedly violating U.S. and international law. Though the rule was scheduled to be implemented starting Tuesday, border agents have reportedly made no changes to their handling of asylum seekers, due to confusion around the details of the new rule.
Tuesday, 7/16
+ When the Trump Administration announced this week that its controversial abortion “gag rule” was “effective immediately,” patients across the United States were thrown into chaos. In addition to prohibiting clinics that receive Title X federal funding from referring patients for abortions, next year the rule will forbid these clinics from sharing workspace with providers that do offer abortions. Perhaps the provider most directly targeted by the rule is Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit that provides free or low-cost reproductive health care, which could lose up to $60 million in funding—ouch.
Reporter Andrea González outlined the various implications of the Trump administration’s dangerous abortion “gag rule” in a Refinery29 article Tuesday.
Wednesday, 7/17
+ Video footage released by NBC News Wednesday has revealed a relationship between President Donald Trump and billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein that appears far closer than the President previously admitted. In the video, which features Trump and Epstein at a party accompanied by throngs of NFL cheerleaders, shows the two men in conversation, supposedly about the women in their company. At one point, Trump points to one of the cheerleaders and appears to mouth “She’s hot.” Since Epstein’s arrest for alleged sex trafficking, Trump has denied having a serious relationship with him, claiming the two had a “falling out” years ago.
+ At a North Carolina rally, President Donald Trump implored rally-goers to answer a question: Why don’t women want to vote for Trump? “You know, it’s interesting with women,” he told the crowd in Greenville, NC. “So, women want to have strong military protection. They want to have strong borders. They want to have strong law enforcement. They want to have great education … Why wouldn’t they want Trump more than anybody else?” The same day, a video surfaced of the President fraternizing with billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who allegedly sex trafficked and abused female children. And this just two days after the Trump administration implemented an abortion “gag rule,” prohibiting health clinics that receive taxpayer funding from referring patients for abortions, a move that will disproportionately affect women and trans people.
Thursday, 7/18
+ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Andrew R. Wheeler announced the government organization would not ban a widely used pesticide, even though multiple studies—including some performed by the EPA—have linked the chemical, chlorpyrifos, to serious health problems in children. The EPA defended the decision, claiming opposition data was “not sufficiently valid, complete or reliable.” Lobbyists from both the chemical and farming industries celebrate the decision as a victory, claiming the substance is necessary to protect crops. And while the chemical is banned for household use, the same restrictions do not extend to farmers: In 2016, more than 640,000 acres were treated with chlorpyrifos in California alone, according to the New York Times.
