Duckworth: Mothers Deserve Better than Trump Administration’s Harmful Anti-Family Policies
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – With Mother’s Day approaching this Sunday, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) delivered a speech on the Senate floor this afternoon calling out the Trump Administration’s repeated attempts to advance policies that harm women, mothers and families. Since 2017, the Trump Administration has rolled back essential Title IX sexual assault protections, limited birth control coverage, attempted to defund health clinics that provide prenatal care and mammograms and so much more. Duckworth also lifted up mothers impacted by our nation’s gun violence epidemic, maternal mortality crisis and ongoing family separation situation. Video of the speech is available here.
“I might just be the luckiest person in the world because I get to spend Mother’s Day helping my one-year-old take a few wobbly steps, then the afternoon watching my four-year-old draw or chasing her around the House… celebrating the holiday surrounded by the people I cherish most,” Duckworth said. “But that isn’t the case for far, far too many other moms and kids around the country. That isn’t the case for women like Denise Reed, Sybrina Fulton or Valerie Castile, who lost their children to gun violence. That isn’t the case for the hundreds of children born in the past year alone whose moms died preventable, pregnancy-related deaths. And that certainly isn’t the case for the families who the Trump Administration separated at our southern border and who still haven’t been reunited… the kids who were thrown in cages because their parents had the nerve to strive for a better life. This Mother’s Day, I’m thinking of those whose hearts are hurting.”
“Don’t tell me that Donald Trump is quote-unquote ‘pro-life’ when he’s pushing for rules that endanger women’s lives… when he’s spent years trying to strip healthcare away from Americans,” Duckworth continued. “We can—and we must—do better. That means fighting for everything from equal pay to better parental leave… it means proving that we care about women every day of the year, not just on one Sunday in May. That’s the least that our mothers and daughters and sisters deserve.”
Duckworth’s remarks as prepared for delivery are below:
I might just be the luckiest person in the world, because I get to wake up on Sunday and spend Mother’s Day… well, being a mom.
I’ll probably spend the morning helping my one-year-old take a few wobbly steps, then the afternoon watching my four-year-old draw or chasing her around the House… celebrating the holiday surrounded by the people I cherish most.
But that isn’t the case for far, far too many other moms and kids around the country.
That isn’t the case for women like Denise Reed, Sybrina Fulton or Valerie Castile, who lost their children to gun violence.
That isn’t the case for the hundreds of children born in the past year alone whose moms died preventable, pregnancy-related deaths.
And that certainly isn’t the case for the families who the Trump Administration separated at our southern border and who still haven’t been reunited… the kids who were thrown in cages because their parents had the nerve to strive for a better life.
This Mother’s Day, I’m thinking of those whose hearts are hurting…
Those moms who would give everything for another lazy Sunday with their sons… those daughters who’d do anything to hear their mothers laugh one more time.
The truth is, the women—moms or otherwise—in this country deserve better than the status quo…
We deserve more than the Trump Administration, which in just two-plus years has already:
Changed Title IX sexual assault rules to favor the accused over the survivor.
Tried to defund health clinics that provide prenatal care and mammograms.
Pushed forward health care proposals that would’ve gutted maternity coverage.
And handed employers the power to decide whether women should have access to birth control.
All this… well, it’s shocking, but not surprising.
Because we knew who Donald Trump was when we elected him...
He’s the man who’s long made clear he doesn’t care about women or our autonomy:
Who once argued that women should be punished for taking up our right to choose…
Who’s taken pride in trying to put the government between us and their doctors…
And who would rather throw those doctors in jail than even pretend to care about the women who make up 51% of this nation.
He’s someone who just 10 days ago stood on a stage in Wisconsin and lied, lied, lied… prioritizing a roar from the crowd over the safety of patients and providers at health clinics nationwide...
And who just last week issued two rules that would make it easier for doctors to either discriminate against women or deny them care altogether.
So don’t tell me that Donald Trump is quote-unquote “pro-life” when he’s pushing for rules that endanger women’s lives… when he’s spent years trying to strip healthcare away from Americans.
Don’t claim that he’s just trying to protect families when he’s the one to blame for the inhumane policy that’s ripping toddlers away from their mothers’ arms.
And don’t you dare argue that he’s leading the “party of life” when he won’t lift a finger to stop first-graders from getting massacred in classrooms by the dozen.
No. Donald Trump’s anti-choice stance isn’t about looking out for families.
It’s about getting a slap on the back from his base and exerting even more control over women’s bodies.
It’s sexist, regressive and flat-out dangerous.
But even while this Administration’s agenda is a travesty, it’s not an anomaly.
Rather, it’s just the latest step in the far-right’s long march to strip away women’s rights.
And I’m tired of it… sick of them trying to shame women when they are the ones who should be ashamed.
So enough with the hypocrisy...
With the misogyny...
With some men in hallowed halls in D.C. arguing that they know better than moms in Illinois or Arizona or Missouri.
We can—and we must—do better.
That means fighting for everything from equal pay to better parental leave… it means proving that we care about women every day of the year, not just on one Sunday in May.
That’s the least that our mothers and daughters and sisters deserve.
Thank you.
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