“Because liberal states have now become sanctuaries for abortion tourism, HHS should use every available tool, including the cutting of funds, to ensure that every state reports exactly how many abortions take place within its borders, at what gestational age of the child, for what reason, the mother’s state of residence, and by what method,” the document states.
For years, Republicans have made sure that no federal funding is used for abortion care through the Hyde Amendment. This plan would take that even further, making sure that no federal funds could be used to assist anyone traveling to a different state for an abortion, and defunding all “abortion providers,” starting with Planned Parenthood.
Project 2025 would also revive the attempt to force the FDA to rescind its approval of the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol and, as a “bare-minimum” interim measure, ban prescribing the pills through telehealth.
Furthermore, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) that Project 2025 imagines would, “Ensure that training for medical professionals (doctors, nurses, etc.) and doulas is not being used for abortion training.”
Contraception
Currently, the HRSA-supported Women’s Preventive Services Guidelines, in accordance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), recommends that adult women have full access to all forms of contraception, including surgery and emergency contraception.
Project 2025 wants coverage of what it calls the “week after pill” removed from the guidelines, as they claim it is a “potential abortifacient.” They are referring here to Ella, a morning-after pill which is not an abortifacient, but can be effective up to five days after unprotected sex. Project 2025 then goes a step farther, and even calls for the elimination of the “male condom” from the guidelines.
None of this amounts to an outright ban on contraception, but it does show a serious effort to limit the availability of all kinds of birth control.
Childcare
Numerous studies have shown that access to affordable child care is critical to women’s success in the workplace, and that universal child care leads to better overall employment and financial outcomes for women. While a long way from true universal child care, the government’s Head Start programs offer free, federally-funded pre-K to children of low-income parents.
Project 2025 proposes eliminating Head Start altogether, stating, “Research has demonstrated that federal Head Start centers, which provide preschool care to children from low-income families, have little or no long-term academic value for children. Given its unaddressed crisis of rampant abuse and lack of positive outcomes, this program should be eliminated along with the entire OHS.”
However, the Brookings Institute found in 2016 that participation in Head Start programs improved educational outcomes, helped with social and behavioral development, and promoted positive parenting.
But Project 2025 doesn’t just want to do away with Head Start. It also rejects the notion of universal child care altogether in favor of incentivizing “home-based” child care solutions.
“Instead of providing universal day care, funding should go to parents either to offset the cost of staying home with a child or to pay for familial, in-home childcare,” it reads.