If you’ve been feeling anxious about the results of the recent election in the United States, you’re not alone. The near-immediate spike in search terms like “change my vote,” plus a 1,500% increase in Americans researching how to leave the U.S., points towards a population that is scared for their rights—including reproductive freedom—being stripped away. 

As a Canadian-based company, GETSOME is dedicated to fight for reproductive freedom, healthcare, and sexual education for everyone, globally. You can always turn to us for free and fair information, education, and insight. 

Though the implications of a second Trump presidency are almost too many to count, the effects on sexual health have been almost immediate. Let’s talk about the impact, both nationally and globally, of the U.S. election of sexual health. 

Restricted Access to Birth Control and Contraceptives

Many pro-Trump Americans will argue that a conservative government does not want to eliminate access to birth control and contraceptive options. The clear attack on birth control and contraceptives outlined in Project 2025 says otherwise. In the states, Title X is a nationally funded family planning program that they intend to undermine and eliminate. On top of that, Trump has already announced his plans to eliminate the Affordable Care Act, which is a law that aims to make healthcare more affordable and accessible in the United States. Contraceptive coverage is guaranteed in the Affordable Care Act.

Post-election, the U.S. saw a massive spike in morning after pill sales, with one company reporting a 966% increase in sales. Morning after pills are a great emergency contraceptive option, as many of them have a shelf-life of four years or longer. Conversations about and interest in long-term birth control methods like IUDs and implants have also increased, with many people looking for options that will outlast a second Trump presidency. 

Regardless of what the incoming administration says, abstinence is only an effective form of birth control when practiced consistently. It’s simply not realistic. So what are the best forms of contraception?

IUDs, implants, and sterilization (however, this is a less viable option if you’re planning on having children in the future).

Common birth control methods like condoms and oral contraceptives rely heavily on consistent and correct use and are best used in conjunction with another birth control method. It’s important to consider personal health, lifestyle, and preferences when choosing a method of contraception. 

Increased Risk for People Giving Birth

For those not familiar, Roe v. Wade is a Supreme Court case from 1973 in which a pregnant woman from Texas challenged the vague and often-dangerous abortion laws in the state. This famously led to abortion being included in an American’s constitutional “right to privacy.” This ruling was overturned in 2022, causing abortion rights to be solely decided by the state governments and putting millions of women and people who can bear children in danger.

We have already watched many of the ramifications of restricted abortion-access play out in the 2+ years since Roe was overturned. Stories of women like Amber Nicole Thurman, who would still be alive today if she were able to receive the routine procedure to clear remaining fetal tissue from her body, have been coming out of states with highly restrictive laws (or total bans) on abortion. Amber lost her life, leaving her 6-year-old son without a mother, because doctors waited 20 hours to operate for fear of facing felony charges. Amber isn’t the only woman who died a painful and preventable death under these life-threatening bans. As of writing this, we have lost Josseli Barnica, Yeniifer Alvarez-Estrada Glick, Porsha Nguzemi, and Nevaeh Crain in Texas, Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller in Georgia, and Taysha Wilkinson-Sobieski in Indiana. 

Under Trump and Project 2025, America is going to become increasingly unsafe for people giving birth. The U.S. maternal mortality rate is higher than the majority of high-income countries, and black women in particular are in danger with a maternal mortality rate 2.6x higher than white women in the country. 

An Abstinence-Only Approach to Sex Education

Project 2025 “recommends deleting all terms related to gender, gender equality, reproductive health, reproductive rights, abortion, sexual orientation and gender identity from all legislation, federal rules, agency regulations, contracts, agency websites and grants.” It also seeks to redefine basic sexual health education as “pornography,” and suggests an abstinence-only curriculum be put in its place.

Every person, young people included, both needs and deserves to know about their body’s sexual and reproductive functions so that they can make informed decisions for and about themselves. The UN has declared comprehensive sex education a human right, and has included it in their 2030 agenda.

Stigmatizing and removing real sexual education is dangerous and harmful. Not to mention, abstinence-only sex education has been proven to actually increase teen pregnancy rates. This approach to sex education doesn’t stop young people from being sexually active. It simply denies them necessary information about contraceptives, STIs, pregnancy, and consent.

Social Media Censorship

Sexuality professionals, sex workers, and LGBTQIA+ creators are already struggling with censorship on social media. When we have to censor, omit, or alter words like “sex,” “rape,” and words for sexual organs and body parts, we are stripping people of their ability to properly identify and speak about their own bodies. Not only that, but we are making things significantly less safe for sex workers and LGBTQIA+ communities. 

Under Trump and Project 2025, we can expect social media censorship to worsen. This may seem comparatively minimal, but given that at least 54% of adults use social media for news and information, it will have a devastating ripple effect in the way that we think about, learn about, and talk about sex and sexuality. 

The Normalization of Shame-Based Messaging

Trump and his administration aim to purposefully spread misinformation and stigmatize sex, sexuality, and queerness in order to further propel their agenda. This approach is intended to shame people into silence, scare them away from speaking up for themselves and others, and directly harm women, women of color, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. 

They propel the false narrative that abortion is dangerous, that women are having abortions at full-term, and that abortion is a decision that women take lightly. Even though we know that abortion is a safe medical procedure when performed under proper conditions, and that the decision to have an abortion is a deeply personal choice that can only be made between a pregnant person and their doctor.

They say that immigrants and members of the LGBTQIA+ community are pedophiles and sexual deviants, with the Trump administration pouring millions into anti-trans ads prior to the 2024 election. Even though, in 2021, 93% of child sexual abuse was committed by men (57.5% of which were White men).

This misinformation is intentional, and meant to brew fear and hatred in the uninformed, and shame minorities and marginalized populations into silence. Their strategy is to fuel culture wars that pit American citizens against each other, distracting from the real issues and inequalities that directly affect everyday life.

The Global Impact on Sexual Health

The 2024 U.S. election had a resounding global impact. Things like the global economy, international relations, and climate change are left hanging in the balance, with many bracing themselves for the worst. 

The same can be said for the global conversation on sexual health. If the United States can impose a near-total ban on abortion, demonize and strip rights away from the LGBTQIA+ community, implement dangerous and false sexual education standards, and restrict access to contraceptives, you can be sure that leaders and future leaders of other countries are watching and considering the same. 

So, what can you do about it?

It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of such huge and restrictive overhauls of protections that people assumed were basic human rights. If you need time to grieve, take it. There’s no “correct” timeline for moving through the grief and rage that you might be feeling right now. But if you’re ready to take action, here are a few ideas:

• Become a sexual health advocate: not in the “go back to school to become a sex therapist or educator” way (unless you want to!) But rather, have conversations about sexual health in your daily life. Educate and empower the people in your community. Go to your local school board meetings when they’re discussing sexual health curricula. Or, run to be a member of your local school board.
• Welcome the tough conversations: you are by no means obligated to spark up conversations with people you’ve cut out of your life if that means sacrificing your own mental and physical wellbeing. But if you have underinformed people, Trump voters, and people who are “pro-life” still in your life, talk to them. Approach these hard conversations with a level head, and speak in plain terms. 
• Collect books on sexual health and wellness: if Project 2025’s proposed book bans are enacted and enforced, books on sexual wellbeing, queerness, and reproduction may become difficult to access in the United States. Build your personal library now so that you have access to that information in the future. Find your local women-owned, queer-owned, or Black-owned bookstore and stock up. Or, scan the shelves the next time you stop at your local thrift store.
• Donate to local and national organizations: Planned Parenthood is a great place to start, but it’s barely scratching the surface. Research small, local organizations that directly impact your community and find ways to support them. Or, if money is a barrier, volunteer your time at these organizations.
• Call your representatives: while the state of American democracy is fragile, it’s not dead. Put pressure on your elected officials to make sure that they are working for you. Call, email, and stay up to date on what your representatives are doing. Make it clear that their job security relies on their ability to serve and protect their constituents.

If you or someone you know are struggling post-election, please find someone you trust to talk to. Whether that’s a friend, family member, licensed professional, or a helpline. If you’re based in the United States, here are some inclusive helplines that do not contact the police:

• Call Blackline: 800-604-5841
• Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860 (US), 877-330-6366 (Canada)
• Wildflower Alliance Peer Support Line: 888-407-4515
• StrongHearts Native Helpline: 844-762-8483
• Thrive Lifeline: 313-662-8209
• LGBT National Help Center: 888-843-4564

Ultimately, the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election was and will be devastating for many. In the years to come, we must support one another as best as we possibly can. GETSOME will continue to be a source of science-backed information on sexual health, an advocate for unlearning sexual shame, and an advocate for women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Finally, we’ll leave you with this quote from Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century.

“Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.”

Keep advocating for reproductive freedom, fighting misinformation and stigma, having conversations about sexual wellness with your friends and family, and do not obey in advance.