Donald Trump has a well-documented history of making demoralizing and misogynistic comments about women. His comments are not only offensive to women in general, but he has even gone so far as to make sexually explicit comments about his eldest daughter and business partner, Ivanka Trump. Late last year Donald Trump unleashed his a vitriolic and sexists attack against fellow Republican candidate Carly Fiorina. While Carly Fiorina has been likened to the devil incarnated, Trumps comments not about her policy ideas but rather about her physical appearance highlight his inability to see women as equals. Sexual innuendoes and inappropriate comments alone may not be cause for severe alarm, but sadly they represent only the tip of the iceberg in Donald Trump’s treatment of women.
Prior to his campaign for president, Trump had not taken a very public stance on women’s health issues. In recent months however, Trump has unsurprisingly argued to restrict women’s health and even went to far as to say that women who seek abortions should receive “a punishment of some kind”. Trump’s selection of Mike Pence as his VP running mate is quite possibly the largest indicator of his personal positions on women’s health and reproductive choice.
Mike Pence proudly takes credit for the de-funding of Planned Parenthood in Indiana. Shorty after closing clinics, the largest HIV outbreak in the state’s history occurred only in the areas where Planned Parenthood clinics closed. Mike Pence happily accepts endorsements from some of the most dangerous anti-choice proponents such as David Duke and Troy Newman. Mike Pence announced at a rally in DC this past Saturday “I want to live to see the day that we put the sanctity of life back at the center of American law, and we send Roe v. Wade to the ash heap of history, where it belongs.” Between the two of them, Donald Trump and Mike Pence pose a serious threat to gender equality and the health and safety of women in America.
