American democracy is today under attack by a president who is brazenly breaking the law and defying the Constitution. “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” proclaimed Donald Trump recently on social media, a declaration of absolute power.
His administration refused to release funds mandated by Congress and fired thousands of protected civil servants—actions that are illegal. Vital agencies that protect Americans are being gutted, and policies, regulations, and programs that safeguard the health and safety of working and middle-class families are being eliminated. The recent defunding of global programs that have checked highly contagious diseases like tuberculosis now threatens us all.
We are Armenian-American women who oppose this extreme agenda, particularly because women—both here and abroad—are hurt as this government actively takes away our hard-won rights and resources. Here are a few examples:
- A global gag rule that will result in millions of women being denied contraceptives, abortion services, and other vital reproductive health care such as cervical cancer screening.
- The elimination of life-saving information about women’s health problems by deleting important peer-reviewed medical articles from government websites (physicians based at Harvard Medical School are already suing the federal government over one such article about endometriosis).
- Trump’s promotions of abortion bans or restrictions that have already led to the death of women unable to get care during a miscarriage due to doctors’ fear of arrest should they provide necessary life-saving care. Trump has increased a hostile climate towards women by pardoning anti-abortion protestors convicted of violating a law meant to protect patients from blockades or threats.
- By requiring the removal of words like “women” from research grant proposals, this administration has eliminated the ability of researchers to continue vital research in women’s health. Scientists now have their hands tied in ways we have never seen before.
- Policies that reduce childcare and maternity leave will push women out of the work force and also eliminate much-needed family income.
- A federal funding freeze on programs to combat violence against women has already caused many shelters for victims of domestic violence to close their doors.
- The elimination of existing directives against discrimination in all facets of life from the workplace to school to the military has already shredded the rights of many, including women, people of color, and LGBTQI+ persons.
- The current Department of Education has instructed schools from elementary grades through college to adopt revised guidelines that weaken standards on sexual harassment and assault and grant stronger protection for those accused of these crimes.
Describing the Department of Education as “a big con job” that needs to be dismantled threatens an adequate education for 50 million children in this country. Local communities are being forced to cut programs and teachers or raise property taxes to bridge the fiscal gaps.
With the earth engulfed by wildfires, powerful hurricanes and storms, widespread flooding, desertification, and the hottest temperatures in recorded history, the president has branded climate change “a hoax” and has cut ties with international efforts to save the planet. The future of our children will be even bleaker if these short-sighted policies continue.
Americans are already facing severe challenges with wealth inequality at its highest level in modern times. Millions of Americans are already working two or three jobs to try to make ends meet; 25 percent of our seniors subsist on $15,000 or less a year; 800,000 Americans are homeless; and we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of any developed nation.
The collection of billionaires comprising this administration—the wealthiest cabinet by far in modern U.S. history—has thus far done little to promote the interests of the average American while at the same time seeking enormous tax breaks for the wealthiest.
Trump’s policies will extend far beyond our borders and devastate lives in so many countries – including Armenia, where necessary institutional reforms are now jeopardized. Defunding programs addressing agriculture, domestic violence, legal reform, and women’s economic empowerment will seriously impact the quality of life and prospects of those who live in Armenia.
We urge all Armenian Americans to join with others to reject oligarchy, authoritarianism, kleptocracy, further tax breaks for the wealthiest, and massive cuts in programs so essential to a thriving democracy.
Let your elected representatives know what you think and ask them to oppose this administration’s harmful proposals, especially those that attempt to usurp the constitutional powers granted to Congress.
Support your local officials who are already acting on your behalf, like the attorneys general in over 20 states now pursuing lawsuits to stop these destructive policies. Participate in economic boycotts and demonstrations. Donate to groups working to protect our rights.
Finally, educate yourself and don’t limit yourself to one news source. Accurate information is key to effective advocacy. Look to history to learn how others resisted similar efforts to take away our rights. Working together we can make a difference.
Armenian American Action Network
Yerazad Coalition
Zoravik, Boston-based Armenian activist collective,
Laura Boghosian
Elaine Mosesian
Maro Matosian, Executive Director, Women’s Support Center in Armenia
Carolyn Mugar
Judy Norsigian, co-founder and former executive director, Our Bodies Ourselves
Ellen Sarkisian
