On Wednesday the 9th of November I woke up hoping that the first time I had been able to vote in an American election had helped make HERstory. After reading the news Trump had won the election I was speechless and cried on and off for hours. Not only was I shocked but I was terrified as a woman about what this means for all women in America. Donald Trump and his running mate Mike Pence are the biggest threat to women's reproductive rights since the legalisation of abortion in 1973. After drying my tears I realised that they aren't going to protect women in America so we have to.
Throughout his campaign Trump repeatedly spoke about repealing Obamacare which provides 22 million Americans with health care. With Trump in power and Obamacare possibly being repealed Planned Parenthood will become an oasis for women in the post-election desert. Planned Parenthood will now be one of the few places where women can get cancer screenings, abortions, STD tests and subsidized birth control. Pence has voiced his opinions of abortion several times saying it is "morally objectionable" and "anti-Christian". Trump has also said that women should be "punished" for having abortions unless the child was conceived through rape, incest or there is a risk to the life of the mother. It is clear neither of these men believe women can be trusted to decide what to do with their bodies and that we should only be in control of them once we have been violated. Fortunately just before the election Barack Obama proposed a new rule stating that states will no longer be able to withdraw funding from Planned Parenthood and other family planning services purely because they provide abortion services. This means Planned Parenthood is protected and can continue to provide all their services, this is particularly important for women that have low income or are unemployed who would not be able to afford birth control or gynaecologist visits without it. Although this is a great relief for women across America we still need to take matters into our own hands. Trump and Pence are not going to back down easy and the more we support Planned Parenthood the more women we can help.
I am an American citizen but I do not live in the United States, if I was there I would be protesting along with the thousands of others, but I live across the pond in the UK. I decided the best and most effective way to help is by donating to Planned Parenthood. I feel like it is my duty along with many others to protect those that Trump will neglect and harm. We cannot change the results of this election but we can look out for each other by donating and making sure Planned Parenthood continues to provide health services for women, continues to help fight and research the Zika virus and continues to help women in every state. The more money we can collectively donate before his inauguration the more prepared Planned Parenthood will be to help, with more and more women being encouraged to get a form of birth control such as the implant that will last longer than Trump's presidency now is the time to donate generously. Donald Trump and Mike Pence may try and keep all us women down and take away our rights but I refuse to let him without a fight to the end. This pussy is going to keep fighting back and so can you by donating, even the smallest amount of money will make a difference.
Planned Parenthood donation web page: