It's been less than two weeks since Donald Trump took office, and he's already made many significant changes to our country. I'm sure you've read about at least some of them by now, but a picture is worth a thousand words, and the photos from Trump's presidency so far tell a concerning story.
The past week and a half has included a dizzying sequence of executive orders and new legislation. One of Trump's first acts as president was to reinstate the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits the use of U.S. government funds to help organizations that provide or even simply educate people about abortion. Then he signed an executive order for the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which endangers the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's access to drinking water, to go forth. On his third day, he ordered the construction of a wall between the United States and Mexico. Last Thursday, he signed yet another executive order, which banned people from several Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for the next three months and banned Syrian refugees from entering indefinitely.
But it's hard to get a grasp of what these decisions actually mean when we're talking about abstract laws. Here are some photographs that demonstrate their consequences.
1Trump Signing The Global Gag Rule
The Mexico City Policy or Global Gag Rule, which limits 27 million women's access to abortion, was signed in a room with only white men flanking the president. This is a problem, because...
2What The Opposite Scenario Would Look Like
...as this photo from the French feminist organization 52 shows, that would be like a bunch of women creating a law to ban ejaculation outside procreation. It makes no. Sense. At all.
3Iranian Refugees Detained At Dulles Airport
As a result of Trump's immigration ban, parents were separated from their children.
4Iraqi Refugee Detained At JFK
Dozens of people were detained at JFK Airport in New York, some for a day or more.
5The Cost Of Birth Control
After Trump's executive order to repeal Obamacare, it's unclear whether or to what extent our insurance policies will cover birth control. If they don't, it could cost over $1,000 to get an IUD.
6Pages Missing From The White House Website
Almost as soon as Trump was sworn in as president, pages on climate change, LGBTQ rights, and other important issues were removed from the White House's site.
7The Cost Of Repealing Obamacare
In addition to causing as many as 20 million people to lose insurance, an Affordable Care Act repeal could cost the government $350 billion.
