With a GOP Government and Mike Pence as VP, Don’t Treat Social Issues as a Side Note

The future is grim for reproductive rights in America. Image by Getty Images
It can seem almost quaint to think that once, when liberals feared the GOP, we concerned ourselves with things like reproductive rights, as versus OMG IMPENDING FASCISM. But the thing with Trump is, we don’t really know whether he’ll be as fascist as we fear (although I’m team I think he’ll be quite fascist). We know how frightened many are, including but hardly limited to American Jews.
What we do know is, with Republicans in control of the presidency, Congress, and perhaps the Supreme Court soon as well, reproductive rights — and, more generally, the notion that women are human beings, not mere hosts for potential future offspring — will suffer. If you’re an American Jewish woman, there’s a question mark re: how this will all play out for you as a Jew. But if you find yourself needing an abortion at any point in the next four-to-eight years (or indefinitely, if Roe vs Wade is overturned), a safe and legal one may not be accessible.
It may seem like a side note, when we’re contemplating the demise of American democracy, that progress on LGBT rights might be reversed. It’s not. See Rachel Maddow’s take-down of Mike Pence, although “take-down” doesn’t seem quite right, given that he’s going to be vice president, and she’s not. Or listen to Dan Savage explaining why the end of gay marriage would have serious, tragic end-of-life consequences, and not just put a damper on festive occasions. President Trump may wind up being an inept buffoon, not the new Hitler. A Republican government with Mike Pence in the Dick Cheney role would be more familiar, but would have dangerous consequences.
It’s easy to look at Trump’s win and see only the unknowns. But the knowns may be the most frightening outcome. And it’s not as if, if the country does go full-on fascist, that won’t disproportionately hurt women and the LGBT population.
Phoebe Maltz Bovy edits the Sisterhood, and can be reached at [email protected]. Her book, The Perils of “Privilege”, will be published by St. Martin’s Press in March 2017.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
- 2
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 3
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 4
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture In a Haredi Jerusalem neighborhood, doctors’ visits are free, but the wait may cost you
-
Fast Forward Chicago mayor donned keffiyeh for Arab Heritage Month event, sparking outcry from Jewish groups
-
Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
-
Fast Forward Latvia again closes case against ‘Butcher of Riga,’ tied to mass murder of Jews
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.