At 8:54 a.m., President-elect Donald Trump selected Georgia Congressman Tom Price, a former orthopedic surgeon, as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The president-elect’s choices for his cabinet leave one thing very clear, his picks for top federal positions are going to be people that could make decisions that would irrevocably change the course of American history.
Price is a vocal opponent of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act and is anti-choice when it comes to abortions. If the Senate goes along with him as the secretary for this department, there would be a dramatic shift in health care that could impact millions of Americans, possibly for the worse.
This will be especially true for women across the United States.
As an adamant proponent for anti-choice/pro-life initiatives, Price will have the power to make it nigh impossible for women to have an abortion.
Women that do not want to have children or that cannot afford to have children will no longer have a choice over what happens to their body during a pregnancy.
If a woman is faced with a medical emergency and wants to choose her life instead of that of her fetus, it would be hard to have an abortion.
If a mother’s fetus is in pain from a fatal disease, and this woman prefers to choose an abortion versus prolonging suffering, she will possibly be stripped of that option altogether with Price as secretary of health.
Price’s plans for women’s health care also means less access to contraception. The six-time representative has done everything in his power to get rid of the employer-sponsored preventive health care part of the ACA, which will make it harder for women to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the first place.
Price, who was never a fan of the Affordable Care Act may gut the entire bill before Trump can create a new health initiative, one that might leave the newly insured under the ACA, 20 million Americans and counting, worse off.
Not only that but as health secretary, Price will determine the future of food, drugs, Medicaid and Medicare. If he falls in line with most Republicans, Medicaid and Medicare will be completely upended too. At least 100 million Americans, specifically the elderly and the impoverished will become vulnerable when it comes to health insurance.
Women live longer than men in old age by up to almost seven years and are paid less than them, and will struggle the most during health emergencies under Price.
