MEDIA RESOURCES: Covering Donald Trump’s First Joint Address to Congress - Reproductive Freedom for All®

Formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America

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MEDIA RESOURCES: Covering Donald Trump’s First Joint Address to Congress

MEDIA RESOURCES: Covering Donald Trump’s First Joint Address to Congress

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump will give his first joint address to Congress in his second term. Since returning to office, his administration has already laid a dangerous foundation for attacking our most vulnerable communities, our fundamental freedoms, and our democracy. Between extremist nominees and dangerous executive orders, his first month has been marked by chaos and confusion.

No matter how Donald Trump tries to spin it, his actions speak for themselves—he is coming after our reproductive freedom. As he addresses the nation tomorrow, below are resources with his record and guidance on his anti-abortion extremist agenda.

Spokespeople from Reproductive Freedom for All will also be available to discuss his address at the State of the Union and his administration’s work to block access to reproductive health care, including abortion, birth control, and access through Medicaid. Please reach out to [email protected] for more. 

What he’s already done

Cabinet Nominees

Trump wasted no time in nominating radical extremists to cabinet positions that could yield devastating harm to our reproductive freedom. During confirmation hearings, these nominees did nothing to deny their hostility toward our reproductive freedom. From Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s confirmation, where he repeated that he “agrees with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy,” to Attorney General Pam Bondi immediately signaling support for criminalizing abortion care providers following her confirmation, it is clear that these cabinet members are prepared to carry out Trump’s anti-abortion agenda.

Executive Orders

During his first weeks in office, President Trump signed a series of anti-abortion executive orders, reinstating the global gag rule, doubling down on the administration’s support of the discriminatory Hyde Amendment, and rescinding two Biden executive orders related to abortion access.

Last month, Trump signed an executive order on in-vitro fertilization (IVF), but despite headlines praising Trump for “expanding access to IVF,” this executive order is an empty gesture that makes no functional policy changes and certainly does nothing to ensure Americans have more access to fertility care. As reported by MotherJones – “Trump’s order to expand IVF access does not expand IVF access.”

So if Trump mentions his executive order to make “IVF more accessible” and states he is working on behalf of Americans who need this medical service, a reminder that his executive order does nothing. And when GOP senators had the opportunity to vote to protect the right to IVF and other fertility care they blocked Democrats’ efforts every single time.

Anti-Abortion Disinformation to Look Out For

Watch out for the following anti-abortion disinformation and propaganda that Trump might use during his joint address to Congress:

  • “Abortion until the moment of birth,” “post-birth abortion,” and “infanticide”: Donald Trump has falsely claimed on numerous occasions that abortion protections would mean people are able to seek abortion up until birth and after birth. These terms are medically inaccurate, inflammatory scare tactics intended to paint Democrats as radical villains and Republicans as “reasonable.” They are not rooted in reality.
  • “Reasonable limits”; “common-sense legislation”: There is nothing reasonable about any bans on abortion. All abortion bans put politicians in control of personal medical decisions that should be made by a pregnant person with their family and doctor.
  • “Leaving it up to the states”: Abortion bans are causing untold harm to people nationwide—denying people the care they need, forcing those in states with bans to travel thousands of miles for care, and even forcing some people to the brink of death before doctors can provide them with emergency abortion care. Donald Trump has gone on record saying that it is a “beautiful thing to watch.” Trump and the GOP do not want to leave abortion to the states. I fact, many states that passed abortion ballot measures that are under GOP control are fighting back against efforts from their legislators who want to undermine and block these new laws from going into effect. This is now respecting the will of voters.

Additional Reproductive Freedom for All Resources

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For over 50 years, Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America) has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for everybody. Reproductive Freedom for All is powered by its more than 4 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.