The self-proclaimed “most pro-life president” in U.S. history has returned to the White House. Donald Trump and his administration are expected to wreak even more havoc on reproductive rights this time around, from restricting access to abortion even further to potentially attacking contraception and even fertility treatments. Though Trump’s flurry of anti-immigration orders and attacks on civil rights grabbed most headlines, his anti-abortion stance was clear from day one if you knew where to look.
He began his term by sliding fetal-personhood language into an anti-transgender executive order, and nuking a public-health initiative that helped patients find reproductive health-care information online. Trump then pardoned nearly two dozen anti-abortion activists and spoke at the March for Life, the largest anti-choice gathering in the nation. He capped his first week in office by signing two abortion-related executive orders on Friday evening, giving us a preview of how his administration intends to expand on the work they did in his first term. Below, a breakdown of how Trump and his allies have advanced their anti-abortion agenda so far.
Trump signed two executive orders that curb access to abortion globally.
On Friday, Trump reinstated the Mexico City Policy, a Reagan-era rule that prohibits nongovernmental foreign organizations from receiving federal funding if they promote or offer abortions. (The Helms Amendment already prohibits using federal funds to pay for abortion care directly across the globe.) Experts say the policy impacts millions of patients worldwide, including those seeking treatments other than abortion like contraception, maternal care, and HIV prevention and treatment.
Separately, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a confidential diplomatic cable that the U.S. will rejoin the so-called Geneva Consensus Declaration, an anti-abortion initiative from Trump’s first term. The non-binding declaration — which at one point had the support of 39 countries, including Belarus, Hungary, Iraq, Kenya, Libya, Pakistan, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and Uganda — states that “there is no international right to abortion, nor any international obligation” to finance or facilitate abortion care.
He brought back the Hyde Amendment, too.
Trump issued an executive order saying his administration will enforce the Hyde Amendment, a 40-year-old budget rider that prohibits the use of federal funding for abortion care with limited exceptions. The policy, which the Biden administration dropped after Dobbs, will make it much harder for young patients, low-income Americans, and people of color to access abortion care.
Reproductiverights.gov went dark post-inauguration.
Reproductiverights.gov was taken offline on the first day of the Trump administration. The federal government website, which was launched by former president Joe Biden after the Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022, offered patients information about reproductive health care, access to abortion care, and a “know your rights” fact sheet to help them navigate a rapidly changing legal landscape.
Trump pushed the idea of fetal personhood on day one.
The president signed an anti-transgender executive order within hours of being sworn in on Monday, which included language around fetal personhood — the anti-abortion concept that would grant fetuses the same legal rights as people. Trump’s executive order declares that the United States government only recognizes two immutable sexes, male and female, which are established “at conception.” The language was widely celebrated among abortion opponents. “This new White House has already shown its resolve,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday during his speech at the anti-abortion March for Life.
Congressional Republicans advanced an anti-abortion bill that would criminalize providers.
On Wednesday, Senate Republicans failed to advance the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act after it didn’t meet the required 60-vote threshold, though the GOP-controlled House passed the bill the next day. (Only one Democrat, Representative Henry Cuellar from Texas, voted in favor of the bill.) The measure is a common anti-abortion tactic that purports to be about abortion later in pregnancy, when in practical terms it would impact families with fatally ill newborns. Not only does the legislation increase penalties for medical providers, but it is also redundant: Homicide laws across the U.S. already criminalize infanticide. Congress also passed a “born-alive” measure nearly 23 years ago that entitled infants born after an attempted abortion to emergency medical treatment.
Trump pardoned anti-abortion advocates, including a woman who stole fetuses.
Trump issued pardons to nearly two dozen anti-abortion activists convicted of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, better known as the FACE Act. The measure, passed with bipartisan support in 1994, responded to an uptick in violent attacks against abortion clinics, including arson, vandalism, and the murder of providers like Dr. David Gunn. Trump called those pardoned “peaceful protesters,” even though many of the activists were convicted of accosting patients, physically blocking access to clinics, and injuring clinic workers. Among them were nine people who livestreamed themselves invading and temporarily shutting down an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C., five years ago. One of them was radical activist Lauren Handy, whose case drew nationwide attention after law enforcement found five fetuses in the refrigerator of her house shortly after she was indicted.
The Justice Department announced it will only enforce the FACE Act in “extraordinary circumstances.”
In keeping with Trump’s pardons, Justice Department chief of staff Chad Mizelle said in a memo Friday that prosecutions and civil actions under the FACE Act will only be allowed in “extraordinary circumstances” or in cases where there are “significant aggravating factors.” He added that the department is immediately dismissing three civil FACE Act cases involving anti-abortion activists who blocked access to clinics in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Tennessee.
Both Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance spoke at the anti-abortion March for Life.
In 2020, Trump made history when he became the first sitting president to attend the March for Life. This year, he addressed attendees via a prerecorded video in which he bragged about his role in Roe’s overturn and vowed to deploy the DOJ to investigate “radical left attacks” on crisis pregnancy centers.
Meanwhile, Vance attended the March in person in his first public appearance since being sworn in. “With the inauguration on Monday, our country faces the return of the most pro-family, most pro-life American president of our lifetime,” he said during his speech. Though he said Trump supports the Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act measure, he didn’t address other specific policies, such as the Comstock Act or the prospect of a nationwide ban. But Vance made clear that the Trump White House is aligned with the goals of the anti-abortion movement. “This administration stands by you, we stand with you,” he said.
As if all that weren’t enough, anti-abortion groups are already pressuring DOJ to enforce the Comstock Act.
On Wednesday, 30 major anti-abortion organizations sent a letter to acting attorney general James McHenry asking the DOJ to enforce the Comstock Act, the 1873 anti-obscenity law that they argue criminalizes the mailing of abortion pills. If Trump agrees with this interpretation and directs his administration to follow through, he’d basically be putting in place a de facto nationwide ban on medication abortion without needing any input from Congress. So while Trump 2.0 may be off to a somewhat muted start as far as abortion policy is concerned, it’s worth keeping an eye on potentially far-reaching developments like this in the days and weeks to come.
The Cut offers an online tool you can use to search by Zip Code for professional providers, including clinics, hospitals, and independent OB/GYNs, as well as for abortion funds, transportation options, and information for remote resources like receiving the abortion pill by mail. For legal guidance, contact Repro Legal Helpline at 844-868-2812 or the Abortion Defense Network.