Donald Trump Wins Second Term: What Is His Take On Women's Rights?

Donald Trump has secured the majority of votes in the 2024 United States Presidential Election, marking his comeback in American politics. While this outcome may have numerous dramatic implications, it will undoubtedly have a tremendous impact on women and minority groups. Issues such as reproductive rights, healthcare, LGBTQ+ rights, and immigration have been hot-button topics throughout the campaign. Here are Donald Trump's takes on some of these issues.

Reproductive Healthcare, Abortion Rights

One of the most significant concerns for women in Trump's second presidency is the future of reproductive rights. In 2022, the historic ruling called 'Roe v. Wade' was overturned, stripping abortion rights from millions of women across many American states. The conservative Republicans in the US have been staunch proponents of anti-abortion policies and Trump's return to office could further erode women’s access to safe and legal abortions. 

Trump has prided himself as one of the "most pro-life" Presidents in the history of American politics. During the Presidential debate in September, Trump doubled down on the 'abortion is murder' narrative, going a step further to claim that some liberals were allowing "abortions in the ninth month" and "after birth". However, the debate moderator, ABC News' Linsey Davis, clarified that this was misleading information.

Pressed on his shifting position on abortion, former Pres. Trump falsely claims some states allow for the killing of an infant after birth.
@LinseyDavis: "There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it's born." https://t.co/cp2VHYZOIH#ABCDebate pic.twitter.com/WJAmDpotO0

— ABC News (@ABC) September 11, 2024

Trump has changed his stance on assisted reproductive technologies numerous times. A few weeks before the election, he called himself the "Father of IVF (in-vitro fertilisation)" at a recent Fox News event. While Trump claims he would implement a policy requiring insurance companies to pay for IVF treatments if elected, many conservative Republicans oppose the treatment. In February, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos should be considered “children” in the eyes of the law, temporarily halting IVF treatments in the state. 

Trump On Women In Leadership

Trump has often made crass comments about women in leadership, often reducing them to their gender and alluding that they are inferior. For example, he has relentlessly said things like, "Somehow, a woman doing better than [President Joe Biden] did" about Kamala Harris in September 2024, or "China-loving wife, Coco Chao!" about former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao two years back.

In April 2016, when Hillary Clinton ran for President, he said, "If she were a man, I don't think she'd get 5% of the vote." Before that, in 2015, he said, "If Hillary Clinton can't satisfy her husband, what makes her think she can satisfy America?" He once even made inappropriate comments about France's First Lady Brigitte Macron's body.

Trump's Legal Battles: Sexual Assault, Hush Money

Just months before the US Presidential Election, Trump was reportedly convicted in a hush-money trial as Stormy Daniels, a former adult actor and his alleged former partner, testified against him. In May, a Manhattan jury found him guilty of covering up a $130,000 payment to Daniels to buy her silence before the 2016 election about the alleged sexual encounter, which took place while he was married to his third wife, Melania. 

Trump was also involved in a 2016 legal dispute with a woman identified as Jessica Leeds, who accused him of sexual assault. She claimed that in 1979, Trump was seated next to her in first class on an aeroplane when he started making inappropriate advances and groping her. “He assaulted me 50 years ago and he continues to attack me today," Leeds recently said. Trump denied these allegations and shockingly claimed, "She would not have been the chosen one."

Trump On Trans Rights

Trump and his supporters have openly expressed anti-transgender sentiments throughout his political career. In 2018, the Trump administration established a rule that defined sex based on the designation assigned at birth. This effectively legitimised discrimination against transgender individuals in the medical system. Over the years, Trump has declared numerous anti-trans policies like a ban on sports participation and control on gender-reaffirming healthcare.

Trump: Can you imagine you're a parent and your son leaves the house and you say, Jimmy, I love you so much. Go have a good day in school and your son comes back with a brutal operation. pic.twitter.com/ChmwpavFAH

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 7, 2024

Falsely claiming that young children were getting “sex change operations” at schools under the Biden administration, Trump promised to ban trans teens from accessing puberty blockers and hormonal treatment if re-elected. “Can you imagine you’re a parent and your son leaves the house and you say, ‘Jimmy, I love you so much, go have a good day in school,’ and your son comes back with a brutal operation? Can you even imagine this? What the hell is wrong with our country?” he said in September 2024. 

"Want To Be Women's Protector"

During a recent appearance in Wisconsin, Trump asserted that he wants to be the 'protector' of women'. He said, "I want to protect the people. I want to protect the women of our country. I want to protect women... I'm going to do it whether the women like it or not," Kamala Harris hit back at this comment, criticising the Republican leader for allegedly taking away women's autonomy over their bodies and decisions.