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After weathering four years of the Biden administration’s relentless pro-abortion, pro-gender ideology agenda, many social conservatives hoped a second Trump administration would bring a reprieve. Although Donald Trump’s presidential campaign did not champion a socially conservative platform, the policies of his first term inspired optimism that he would curb the aggressive progressive agenda of the previous administration.

Amid the blistering pace of executive orders, the news cycle surrounding President Trump’s pardoning of the January 6 rioters, and the changes made to immigration policy, it’s easy to overlook how Trump has not only reversed misguided Biden-era policies related to life and family, but has also advanced socially conservative policies at a pace few anticipated. Given the breadth of action taken, it is worth summarising these recent developments.

Preventing Taxpayer Funding of Abortion

Last week, President Trump reversed several pro-abortion executive orders from the Biden era. For example, he issued an order titled “Enforcing the Hyde Amendment,” which revoked Executive Order 14076. This order, which had been signed by President Biden after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, required a government-wide effort to promote and fund abortion. The Biden order had specifically directed the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to identify ways to protect and expand access to chemical abortion.

Trump also revoked Executive Order 14079, which had recategorised abortion as a form of health care and allowed individuals seeking abortions to use Medicaid for elective abortions across state lines. With his new order, Trump stated it is now “the policy of the United States, consistent with the Hyde Amendment, to end the forced use of Federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion.”

Trump not only reversed Biden-era abortion policies but also reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which ensures that U.S. tax dollars do not fund organisations or programs that carry out or promote abortion abroad. He also directed the secretaries of State and Health and Human Services to extend the requirements of this policy to all global health assistance. This action is similar to a 2017 order that covered $8.8 billion in family planning and global health funds.

Revising the Government’s Stance on Abortion

In one of his first acts as secretary of State, Marco Rubio announced that the United States would rejoin the Geneva Consensus Declaration. This initiative, originally spearheaded by the first Trump administration in 2020, affirms that “there is no international right to abortion.”

Whereas the Biden administration had used the bully pulpit of the presidency to promote abortion, President Trump concluded his first week back in the Oval Office by addressing the March for Life. In comments delivered via video message, he described Roe v. Wade as “unconstitutional” and “disastrous” and vowed to “protect women and vulnerable children.” Trump also said the U.S. Department of Justice would investigate “attacks on churches and crisis pregnancy centers.”

J.D. Vance also addressed the March in his first extended speech as vice president. He described Trump as “the most pro-family, most pro-life American president of our lifetimes” and vowed that the Trump-Vance administration would never direct FBI raids against pro-lifers, unlike the previous administration. Vance also promised a return to the pro-life policies of Trump’s first term.

President Trump pardoned 23 pro-life activists who had been convicted under the FACE Act. During the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Justice charged over 30 individuals involved in pro-life demonstrations. Several activists in their mid-to-late 70s received multi-year sentences for their protests. While announcing the pardons, Trump stated, “Twenty-three people were prosecuted. They should not have been prosecuted. … This is a great honor to sign this.”

Supporting Protections for Abortion Survivors

The Trump administration released a statement of administration policy on H.R. 21 (the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act). The legislation would require medical care for babies who are born alive following an attempted abortion. According to the White House,

“A baby that survives an abortion and is born alive into this world should be treated just like any other baby born alive.”

Defining the Sexes and Protecting Women’s Safety

In his inaugural address, President Trump declared, “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.” He backed this statement by revoking a series of Biden-era orders that promoted gender ideology, including a 2021 order that established a White House Gender Policy Council.

The U.S. State Department also issued guidance that American embassies should only fly the American flag and not any activist flags, such as the Pride or Progress flags flown over 99 U.S. embassies in 2022.

Trump also signed an executive order titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” Among other actions, this order establishes a federal policy that recognises two immutable biological sexes: male and female. It requires all executive agencies to interpret and apply federal laws accordingly.

The carefully worded order defines “sex” as “an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female” and that it “does not include the concept of ‘gender identity.’” The order explains that the concept of “gender identity” permits “the false claim that males can identify as and thus become women and vice versa and require[es] all institutions of society to regard this false claim as true.”

Additional provisions of the order include prohibiting males who identify as women from being housed in women’s prisons or detention centres; requiring government-issued identification documents, including passports and visas, to accurately reflect a person’s sex; and prohibiting federal funds from being used to promote gender ideology. The order also rescinded a litany of Biden-era guidance that promoted gender ideology.

Removing Gender Ideology from the Military

Additionally, President Trump rescinded Biden’s order that allowed transgender-identifying individuals to serve in the military and issued a new order aimed at banning “radical gender ideology” in the military. According to the president’s order, “[T]he Armed Forces have been afflicted with radical gender ideology to appease activists unconcerned with the requirements of military service like physical and mental health, selflessness, and unit cohesion.”

According to the White House, “gender dysphoria” imposes “medical, surgical, and mental health constraints” that are inconsistent with the high standards requires for troop readiness, lethality, and cohesion.

The order candidly states, “[A]doption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.” The order also prohibits the “use of pronouns that inaccurately reflect an individual’s sex.”

Protecting Minors from ‘Gender Transition’ Procedures

President Trump issued a comprehensive executive order titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.” This order, the first of its kind, criticised so-called “gender-affirming care” for children and stated that the United States would not fund, promote, assist, or support the “transition” of a child from one sex to another.

According to the order, “Across the country today, medical professionals are maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children under the radical and false claim that adults can change a child’s sex through a series of irreversible medical interventions.” The order clarifies that the federal government opposes the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical interventions for the purpose of “gender transition” for minor children.

Specifically, the order directs federal agencies to ensure that institutions receiving government research grants stop participating in the chemical and surgical mutilation of children. It also instructs these agencies to disregard policies that rely on the “junk science” peddled by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH),” which it says “lacks scientific integrity.” Additionally, the order instructs other government agencies to reflect the administration’s stance against irreversible gender transition procedures for minors.

Conclusion

In its first week, the second Trump administration has moved quickly to fulfil its campaign promises. While the media has mainly focused its attention on immigration and personnel changes, President Trump has rapidly begun to implement pro-life policies and push back against gender ideology. Although there is still much work to be done, the administration’s first week brought meaningful victories for those committed to the principles of social conservatism.