President Joe Biden speaks at a Democratic National Committee event at the Howard Theatre on October 18, 2022, in Washington, DC.
Editor’s Note: Melinda French Gates is a philanthropist, business leader and global advocate for women and girls.
CNN —
As President Joe Biden faces former President Donald Trump in another contest for the White House, the stakes for women and families couldn’t be higher.
Melinda French Gates
I’ve never endorsed a presidential candidate before. My work on gender equality and global health often requires me to work with leaders on both sides of the aisle, so I’ve avoided talking publicly about who I voted for in past elections.
But this year is different.
After Trump’s first term in office endangered the health of women, compromising their safety and robbing them of essential freedoms, I’m supporting Biden this election and asking others to do the same.
One of Trump’s first actions as president was reinstating and expanding theglobal gag rule, which restricted foreign aid to organizations providing reproductive services and, bysome estimations, caused more than 100,000 maternal and child deaths globally.
The former president imposed restrictions on the federal family planning program,Title X, that made it harder for people from low-income backgrounds to access contraceptives. His often divisive, sometimes violent rhetoric throughout his campaigns and administration — from thesexist attacks he lobbed at women journaliststocalling for his opponent to be jailed— has contributed to a hostile political climate for women in office andallowed threats against election workers,most of whom are women, to proliferate.
And he deliberately appointedSupreme Court justiceswho would overturn Roe v. Wade, which resulted in a decision with far-reaching andcatastrophic consequencesfor women and families.
In the two years since Roe was overturned,emergency rooms have turned away pregnant womenin desperate need of care because doctors feared legal consequences.Obstetricians have fled stateswith strict bans, which could leave women without access to basic services likecontraceptives.
The US already hasone of the highest maternal mortality ratesamong advanced economies, andmost OBGYNs agreethat the decision to overturn Roe has led to more maternal deaths.
On the one hand, Trump has made it clear that, if reelected, he would do nothing to mitigate the damage his administration caused — but instead go further by allowing statesto monitor and prosecute pregnant women.
On the other hand, Biden has reinstated funding to health organizations for women around the world and fought for reproductive freedom in the US. His administration has supportedthe right to travel across state linesfor reproductive services,preserved access to mifepristone— a drug with a20-year record of safety— taken steps toprotect fertility treatments such as IVFand worked to make contraceptives more accessible. He’sdefended lifesaving emergency medical carefor pregnant women and has helpededucate doctors and patients about their legal rights.
What’s more, Biden has signaled his broader commitment to women and families by championing historic — and sorely needed — investments in this country’s care infrastructure.
The US remainsthe only high-income country without a paid family and medical leave policy, forcing many workers to choose between caring for their loved ones or bringing home a paycheck. As child care becomes crushingly expensive, accounting forup to 31%of a low-income family’s earnings, it often makes more financial sense for one parent to leave their job to take care of the kids;in most cases, that parent is a woman.
Not only isthe caregiving crisis keeping women out of the workforce, but it’scostingthe US economy billions of dollars. Unless something changes, many women will remain locked out of highly influential industries, fromtechandventure capital to media and politics.
Despite the severity of the caregiving crisis, elected officials have failed to place a comprehensive plan on the national agenda for decades. Not Biden.
During his2020 campaign, Biden made caregiving a central plank of his platform, and in the White House, he’s led efforts tomake care more affordable for familiesandboost compensation and job quality for care workers. His push to strengthen the child tax credit, which resulted in many lower-income families with children receiving a check on a monthly basis, helpedreduce child poverty by nearly half in just one year.
And hecontinues to fightfor more affordable child care, home care for older Americans and people with disabilities anda long-overdue paid family and medical leave policy. Biden is, put simply,the strongest champion for caregiversthe Oval Office has ever seen.
While Trump has boasted about rolling back the rights of women, Biden understands that the future of our country depends on them. That’s why Biden has earned my vote. I urge anyone who cares about women and families to join me.
