Policy Brief: Week of February 17th
Written while listening to Kendrick Lamar
Today (February 19th, 2025), Trump tweeted:“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” Trump calling himself King and claiming he is above the law is just saying the quiet part out loud.
If you haven’t taken action yet, consider this your official invite. The time for hoping that others will act has passed —this moment demands all of us. No one is coming to save us. We have to save ourselves.
Stay informed. Get involved. Take action.
In case you're new to it: activism is inconvenient. Changing habits. Waiting longer. Being uncomfortable. It's all included. This is how you build something better. It takes some sacrifice
What’s Happening This Week on The Hill
The House is on recess until this Sunday
The Senate is in session until March 17th
Legislation I’m Watching
HR 722 – I’ve covered this before, but it bears repeating: this is the bill that would enact a nationwide abortion ban. It seeks to grant embryos legal protections under the 14th Amendment, effectively criminalizing abortion across all states. This isn’t a “red state vs. blue state” issue—this is about fundamental rights and bodily autonomy for all. If we ignore what’s happening to those most impacted by these policies, we fail to see that this could become the reality for everyone.
Direct Action To Take: Say NO to a national abortion ban
HR 629 – Another bill I’ve highlighted before, but one that cannot be overlooked: this legislation would prohibit contraception altogether. Yes, you read that right—birth control itself would be banned.
Save Act- Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a bill that could disenfranchise millions of women who have changed their last names after marriage. This legislation mandates that all Americans provide in-person proof of citizenship—such as a birth certificate or passport—when registering or re-registering to vote. Critics argue that this requirement could disproportionately impact married women, as their legal names may not match their birth certificates, creating significant barriers to exercising their right to vote.
Approximately 80% of women in opposite-sex marriages adopt their spouse's last name. Under the SAVE Act, these women might face challenges in voter registration due to name discrepancies, potentially affecting up to 69 million women nationwide.
While proponents of the bill, such as Texas Representative Chip Roy, assert that it aims to enhance election integrity by preventing noncitizen voting, data indicates that instances of noncitizen voting are exceedingly rare. Moreover, the bill's provisions could inadvertently disenfranchise eligible voters, particularly married women, people of color, young voters, and transgender individuals.
Executive Branch
A proposed Executive Order (EO) could strip away life-saving postpartum Medicaid coverage, ending the policy that allows states to extend coverage for 12 months after childbirth. This protection, originally enabled by the American Rescue Plan Act (2021) and made permanent by the Consolidated Appropriations Act (2023), would be rolled back—leaving new mothers with only 60 days of healthcare coverage post-delivery.
This isn’t just a bureaucratic change. It’s a direct risk to maternal and infant health. Research—including my own work with the Florida Health Justice Project and my MPH program—shows that consistent healthcare access for a full year postpartum is the gold standard for preventing maternal and infant mortality. The majority of postpartum deaths happen after the first two months, making extended Medicaid coverage a critical lifeline for new mothers, especially in underserved communities.
Rolling back this policy isn’t about fiscal responsibility—it’s about controlling who gets access to essential healthcare. If this EO moves forward, it will disproportionately harm low-income mothers and communities of color, exacerbating already devastating maternal mortality rates.
The following executive actions go against the 28th Amendment. Government officials and anti-equality actors in positions of power will go to extreme lengths to bypass the Constitution.
Health and Human Services is censoring the word women: thousands of research projects are under scrutiny for language that violated Trump’s orders forcing compliance with gender norms- even “female” and “women” are flagged. This is censorship and an attempt to erase communities. In fact virtually all research looking at women (an already extremely underfunded area) is being flagged and the research that has been established, is being changed.
Sexual Assault Prevention Programs are being dismantled: In the military, we are seeing a rollback on sexual assault prevention and response (SAPR) programs, jeopardizing the safety and well-being of service members
Trump has already banned trans military enlistment and gender-affirming care for youth
What I’m Watching In The Courts
JANUARY 6 PARDONS & THE FACE ACT:
Among those recently pardoned, 23 individuals were convicted of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act)—a law that enforces federal penalties for violent, obstructive, and destructive actions meant to block access to reproductive healthcare. This isn’t just a pardon—it’s a signal that attacks on clinics and patients may escalate with little to no consequence.IDAHO’S HIGH-STAKES LEGAL BATTLE FOR EMERGENCY ABORTION CARE:
For the first time ever, a hospital system is suing its own state to protect patients' right to emergency abortion care. St. Luke’s Health System, Idaho’s largest healthcare provider, has filed a landmark lawsuit against the Idaho Attorney General, challenging the state’s total abortion ban.Why? The ban directly conflicts with federal law (EMTALA), which mandates that hospitals provide emergency medical care—including abortion when necessary to save a patient’s life. This argument was also made in the Adkins, et al. v. State of Idaho case, brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights last November.
Key Facts on Idaho’s Abortion Ban:
❌ Doctors face 2-5 years in prison for providing abortion care.
❌ The law lacks clear exceptions for protecting a patient’s health.
❌ Obstetric deserts are growing—some patients must travel over 100 miles to safely give birth.
❌ St. Luke’s warns the law “makes it impossible to provide the highest standard of care in some of the most heartbreaking situations.”This lawsuit could set a critical precedent for healthcare providers nationwide, reinforcing their legal right—and obligation—to provide emergency care despite restrictive state bans.
What I’m Watching Globally
The US rejoined the anti-abortion government coalition called the Geneva Consensus Declaration. The US had initiated it under Trump 1.0 then left it under biden.
The Geneva Consensus Declaration (GCD) is an international agreement that promotes anti-abortion policies and opposes the recognition of abortion as a human right. It was originally spearheaded by the U.S. under the Trump administration in 2020 and signed by several conservative, authoritarian, and religiously aligned governments, including Brazil, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, and Uganda. When Biden took office, the U.S. formally withdrew from the declaration in 2021, signaling support for reproductive rights on the global stage.
Why is the U.S. rejoining this significant?
1️⃣ Global Legitimization of Anti-Abortion Policies – By rejoining, the U.S. aligns itself with governments that restrict abortion and reproductive healthcare, strengthening a global anti-choice movement that seeks to roll back reproductive rights.
2️⃣ Undermining International Human Rights Norms – The declaration explicitly states that there is no international right to abortion and emphasizes “family values” and sovereignty over global human rights agreements. This conflicts with positions held by the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO), and numerous human rights organizations, which recognize access to abortion as part of fundamental healthcare and gender equality.
3️⃣ Potential Domestic Implications – The move signals a policy shift within the U.S. government toward more restrictive reproductive policies. It could embolden conservative lawmakers to push for further domestic abortion restrictions, including efforts to limit funding for reproductive healthcare both at home and abroad.
4️⃣ Impact on Global Reproductive Health Funding – The U.S. is a major global health funder, and rejoining the GCD could influence how international aid is allocated, potentially cutting funding for organizations that provide abortion access, contraceptive care, and maternal health services.
TLDR: The U.S. rejoining the Geneva Consensus Declaration isn’t just symbolic—it’s a strategic move to align with a global anti-abortion agenda, reinforce restrictive policies, and set the stage for further attacks on reproductive rights at home and abroad.
Action is the antidote to despair - Joan Baez
5 Actions to Take
Earlier this week I posted a separate list of specific reproductive activism actions to take.
The House of Representatives is currently in recess, and representatives are in their home districts to hear from constituents. That means that there’s an opportunity in every congressional district across the country this week for Indivisibles to show our elected officials that we will not lay down for the Trump-Musk coup without a fight -- It’s Musk or Us! Indivisible has sent out a blueprint on actions to take. Below are ways you can take part:
In person: Indivisible is prioritizing driving in-person events across the country. The best way to show our Members of Congress (MoCs) -- and the world -- that we mean business is by being highly visible in our opposition to this coup.
Check our national map to see if there’s an action near you this week! Bigger actions are great. If we can get everyone together at the same time, there’s more potential for it to get the sort of coverage that will make it highly visible.
Not seeing an event in your area? Connect with your local Indivisible group or grab some friends, and check out our recess action toolkit with everything you need to plan your district action this week -- then register it on our map so Indivisibles near you can join. And if your representative is hiding from the public or is already on our side, you can take the fight to Musk himself by organizing a Tesla Town Hall!
Virtually: We understand that not everyone can make it to an in-person event. Whether it’s too far, you can’t quite make it out of the house, or your schedule doesn’t match up, we want to make sure you have the opportunity to make an impact too.
If you have a Republican representative, call and demand they answer for allowing Musk and Trump to push a budget that will slash lifesaving programs for the American people while lining the pockets of Musk and his billionaire friends.
If you have a Democratic representative, call and make sure they are using every ounce of leveragethey have to prevent the worst outcomes of a funding fight. Recess ends this Sunday, so we need every Indivisible to make a plan to get loud this week and let their MoCs know this coup will not happen on our watch!
3. Tell your Senator to vote against Harmeet Dhillon the nominee to lead the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
Next week Harmeet Dhillon, who has spent her career misusing civil rights laws to purposely harm minority groups, will be considered to lead the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division.
The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice is a critical safeguard to protect women, girls, and LGBTQI+ people by prosecuting perpetrators of gender discrimination, Title IX violations, hate crimes, and attacks on voting rights. Dhillon’s history of undermining civil rights makes her unfit to lead the Division:
Dhillon has been a vocal and hostile opponent of reproductive rights and access to health care. She claimed that state shield laws protecting access to reproductive care and trans health care are unconstitutional, raising the question of whether she will target them as leader of the Civil Rights Division.
Dhillon has engaged in anti-democratic election denialism and attacked voting rights. She led efforts to undermine voting access by filing multiple lawsuits across the country challenging voting rights laws, redistricting, and election processes.
Dhillon has dedicated her career to attacking the rights and wellbeing of trans youth across the country. She attempted to block efforts by California to protect the privacy of trans students. In Colorado, she sued a school for using a trans student’s preferred name. She also sued numerous providers of trans health care in an effort to reduce access.
Call Your Representative: 202-224-3121 or use 5 Calls
Haven’t downloaded the 5 Calls app yet? You’re missing out.
This platform finds your federal representative, provides issue summaries, and even gives you a script—making civic engagement quick and easy. Call with confidence.
Personally, I have been hopping on the 5 Calls app while I drink my morning coffee so I can check off talking to my representative early in the morning.
Join the Equal rights coalition- bit.ly/ERANowMovement
The fight for reproductive rights, voting access, and healthcare equity is unfolding in real time, and the stakes have never been higher. Policies once considered unthinkable are gaining traction, threatening fundamental freedoms and disproportionately harming the most vulnerable communities. Staying informed is essential, but action is what drives change. Now is the time to speak up, organize, and push back—because our rights depend on it.
Onward & Upward