One Day.

By Charlotte White

In hopes of Trump’s campaign promises being just a mere bluff, women are crushed as those promises became painful realities.

One day could pass without notice— being just another date on the calendar. Yet, one day could also mean the passing of 26 executive orders, which are decisions capable of changing lives overnight. While this one day might have been a relief for the 77 million Trump voters, this was also a day that left countless minorities, including women, devastated. We are now faced with one question: What happens when we need care? And the answer is both plain yet dreadful—they have nowhere to turn. One day turns into one question, and the one question is carrying the weight of a thousand lives. 

On the evening of President Donald Trump’s campaign, the government website reproductiverights.gov went offline. This website offers reliable information on reproductive healthcare. It includes resources for sexual health, prenatal care, contraception availability, and abortion access. The purpose of this website was to offer accessible information for women to gain insight into their reproductive health, especially for women who don’t have access to healthcare in America. However, removing a needed source sparked immediate controversy amongst the female communities, as women no longer have an official source for reproductive health services.

One thing we must remember is that reproductive rights do not limit the conversation to only having “access to abortion.” They include everything from affordable contraception to promoting sex education for the female youth. 

This removal is simply one piece of the larger pattern of restrictions on women’s sexual health.

 To have something as important as a federal website removed is not just a simple inconvenience; rather, it strips away the lifeline that so many women rely on. When that resource disappears, the message is very clear: our needs, our rights, and our voices are being erased. The clock ticks louder for women in restrictive states, where delays in reproductive care can mean the difference between life and death. 

We can no longer treat this removal as a mere policy decision. It is a gut-wrenching realization that women’s rights, something they have always believed was theirs to protect, have the potential to be signed away with a stroke of a pen. 

Exceeding reproductive rights, other executive orders have aimed at programs and protection that women depend on. Changes to federal workforce types have made it easier to fire employees without due process, which could hurt the hiring process involving women. There have been countless circumstances of women being discriminated against or harassed in workplaces. However, with Trump’s executive order, women’s voices—already strained from years of being ignored—risk being entirely wasted and silenced. Revoking DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs has strained efforts to handle gender discrepancies in leadership positions, especially in male-dominated industries. 

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

The most powerful source we have in this crisis is education. As a civil rights advocate, Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.” We must educate ourselves and others about this issue. Share resources and articles with friends and family to ensure they are informed. Support local clinics and organizations like Planned Parenthood, Center for Young Women's Health, Safe Teens, Access Granted, and The Bridge. You can find details on reproductive health services and information in these places. By doing so, you support these organizations and entrust yourself and others to make a difference. 

We are more than executive orders. More than media buzz. More than a paper to be signed or a problem to be silenced. These orders don’t merely take away websites, protections, or programs—they take away something far greater: the belief that we have the right to choose. For every daughter, sister, mother, and friend who deserves to live without fear, we must resist until what was taken that is ours is reclaimed. And one day—not this day, but one day—our voices will be louder than any pen stroke could ever silence. 

Websites

• Bedsider — bedsider.org

• Center for Young Women's Health — youngwomenshealth.org

• Love is Respect — loveisrespect.org

• Safe Teens — safeteens.org 

• Access Granted — getaccessgranted.com

• The Bridge — bridgefromviolence.com