Hello Fellow Netizens,
Politics in the United States is anything but boring, and the last few weeks have proved that this is definitely the case. From the slew of Supreme Court decisions released over the summer to the much-anticipated first Presidential Debate between President Biden and Mr. Trump, there were plenty of stories to digest and understand. In more recent debates and conversations about the upcoming elections, one item stood out to me and caught my attention: Project 2025. President Biden and his campaign lambasted Project 2025, stating via X (formerly known as Twitter) that it “should scare every single American.” Mr. Trump and his campaign tried to distance themselves from Project 2025, calling some of its contents “ridiculous and abysmal.
So… what is Project 2025?
Project 2025: A Conservative Dream Come True
Project 2025 is collection of policy proposals compiled into a playbook by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. According to the Foundation, the purpose of this more than 900-page book is simple:
It is not enough for conservatives to win elections. If we are going to rescue the country from the grip of the radical Left, we need both a governing agenda and the right people in place, ready to carry this agenda out on day one of the next conservative administration.
This is the goal of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. The project will build on four pillars that will, collectively, pave the way for an effective conservative administration: a policy agenda, personnel, training, and a 180-day playbook.
“About Project 2025“. The Heritage Foundation
Essentially, if a conservative President like Mr. Trump wins the presidency, this playbook will serve as a guide for their administration to carry out much of what conservative groups across the country have wanted in the federal government. The book is divided into multiple chapters, with the bulk focused on the various federal agencies under the direct supervision of the executive branch. However, I would point out that much of what Project 2025 outlines paints a grim, almost apocalyptic, version of the federal government. Don’t believe me? Since this site is dedicated to health policy, I will only focus on 3 major items related to medicine and healthcare in the United States (although I highly encourage you Netizens to read all of Project 2025 in its entirety).
Note that the following quotes are mainly from Chapter 14: “Department of Health and Human Services”.
Agenda Item #1: Significantly Limit Reproductive Rights
The [Health and Human Services – HHS] Secretary must ensure that all HHS programs and activities are rooted in a deep respect for innocent human life from day one until natural death: Abortion and euthanasia are not health care.
“Department of Health and Human Services” by Roger Severino – Page 450, Project 2025
The [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – CDC] should eliminate programs and projects that do not respect human life and conscience rights and that undermine family formation. It should ensure that it is not promoting abortion as health care.
“Department of Health and Human Services” by Roger Severino – Page 454-455, Project 2025
Abortion pills pose the single greatest threat to unborn children in a post-Roe world… [The Food and Drug Administration – FDA] should therefore: Reverse its approval of chemical abortion drugs because the politicized approval process was illegal from the start.
“Department of Health and Human Services” by Roger Severino – Page 457-458, Project 2025
Policymakers should end taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood and all other abortion providers and redirect funding to health centers that provide real health care for women.
“Department of Health and Human Services” by Roger Severino – Page 471, Project 2025
Agenda Item #2: LGBTQIA+ Health Policies Should be Abandoned
The CDC should immediately end its collection of data on gender identity, which legitimizes the unscientific notion that men can become women (and vice versa) and encourages the phenomenon of ever-multiplying subjective identities.
“Department of Health and Human Services” by Roger Severino – Page 456, Project 2025
…[Family] policies and programs under President Biden’s HHS are fraught with agenda items focusing on “LGBTQ+ equity,” subsidizing single-motherhood, disincentivizing work, and penalizing marriage. These policies should be repealed and replaced by policies that support the formation of stable, married, nuclear families… [Homes] with non-related “boyfriends” present are among the most dangerous place for a child to be. HHS should prioritize married [heterosexual] father engagement in its messaging, health, and welfare policies
“Department of Health and Human Services” by Roger Severino – Page 451, Project 2025
The redefinition of sex [in the nondiscrimination provisions for Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act] to cover gender identity and sexual orientation and pregnancy to cover abortion should be reversed in all HHS and [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services – CMS]” programs as was done under the Trump Administration. This includes the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
“Department of Health and Human Services” by Roger Severino – Page 475, Project 2025
Agenda Item #3: Ignore and Restructure Public Health
CMS should: Announce nonenforcement of the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate on Medicaid and Medicare hospitals, [r]evoke corresponding guidance and regulations, [and refrain] from imposing general COVID-19 mask mandates on health care facilities or personnel.
“Department of Health and Human Services” by Roger Severino – Page 475, Project 2025
We need a national epidemiological agency responsible only for publishing data and required by law to publish all of the data gathered from states and other sources. A separate agency should be responsible for public health with a severely confined ability to make policy recommendations. The CDC can and should make assessments as to the health costs and benefits of health interventions, but it has limited to no capacity to measure the social costs or benefits they may entail.
“Department of Health and Human Services” by Roger Severino – Page 453, Project 2025
NOTE: To clarify, the quote above is calling for a separate agency that would remove the CDC’s ability to make public health decisions that may interfere with certain aspects of social life; the example used in the following text is closing down churches for reasons related to health such as shutdowns for a pandemic.
What Is At Stake
I hope you all read through some of the quotes above; these do not cover every public health issue tackled by Project 2025 and are not meant to limit the extent of the Heritage Foundation’s political agenda for the United States. If Project 2025 becomes a reality, health policy in the United States will drastically change (and I am not exaggerating).
I highly encourage all of you to read over the playbook and see for yourself what Project 2025 is. I also encourage you all to watch the Wall Street Journal’s video on Project 2025 if this suits your fancy more than reading.
Stay safe and until next time, fellow Netizens!
Featured Image: Photo by Mitja Juraja: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-skull-970517/
Disclaimer: This article reflects the author’s own opinions and statements. They do not reflect the opinions or stances of any organization affiliated with the author.
