Trump Budget is Blatant Assault on Women and Families

Madison, WI – As an organization that advocates for the health, safety, and economic security of women and families in our state, the Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health (WAWH) is horrified by Trump’s budget proposal that would deny health care, food and other essential supports to struggling households with children, most of which are headed by women.

“This budget adds insult to injury for already underfunded programs that critically impact women’s health and financial security and it is a blatant assault against working families by the Trump administration,” said Sara Finger, WAWH Executive Director. “Trump’s proposal would shred safety net programs, defund Planned Parenthood and will cause deep, lasting harm to Wisconsin women and their families.”

This historically harsh proposal includes an additional $610 billion in cuts to Medicaid on top of the already proposed $880 billion in cuts from the American Health Care Act, culminating in a proposed reduction of 47% to Medicaid over 10 years.  These cuts would be devastating to women’s health and are unprecedented in modern politics.

Because women bear a disproportionate share of family caretaking responsibilities, they are exceptionally impacted by these proposed cuts to programs that effect children.  Several safety net programs such as Medicaid, food stamps, and income support are relied upon by mothers to keep children healthy.  The budget includes a $191 billion dollar cut to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), which is a last resort for families to not starve because of poverty.  The cutting of these programs will affect families, but to an even greater extent, will hinder the ability of single mothers to keep themselves and their children healthy.

In addition to cutting safety net programs that countless women rely on, it also launches an attack against the reproductive rights of women.  For the first time in history, the Trump budget would bar Planned Parenthood from participating in any U.S. Department of Health and Human Services program. In addition to defunding Planned Parenthood health centers from the Medicaid program, denying millions access to essential health care, these health centers would be excluded from a range of programs including Zika and cancer prevention and from Title X, the nation’s family planning program.

While the Trump budget proposal has not been enacted, and needs to be passed by both houses of Congress in order to become law, the proposal lays out the Trump administration’s dangerous priorities for our country. WAWH calls on all women’s health supporters to speak out to their national leaders to warn of the devastating impacts this budget will have on women and girls.

The vision of the Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health (WAWH) is an environment in which all Wisconsin women, at every stage and every stage of their life, can realize their optimal health, safety and economic security. Visit www.supportwomenshealth.org.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.