Ever since our forebearers declared American independence 248 years ago, our nation has been rooted in the Rule of Law, not the rule of kings. As such, in our representative form of democracy, “We the People” hold the ultimate political power and our rights come before the state.
Yet, as Benjamin Franklin cautioned just after the US Constitution was signed, our republic (yes, we are both a democracy and a republic) will only endure “if we can keep it.” Simply put, freedom is never free. For our democratic way of life to be sustained, each of us must be well informed, not lose faith that we can change things through our vote and above all else, not take for granted the rights and freedoms our democracy makes possible.
It is true that the word democracy was neither mentioned in the Declaration of Independence nor the US Constitution. Yet the opening words of the Preamble to the Constitution, “We the People of the United States,” reflect the fundamental principle of democracy – that the will of the people provides the legitimacy for our system of government and our laws. Thus, protecting democracy
is not a form of partisan politics; it is how we stop oppression; fight extremism; maintain a free press; and ensure that citizens have the right to vote, free speech, assembly, religion, and to petition the government.
Even more significantly, our democracy is the framework for literally every right we hold dear. And the reality is many freedoms and programs Americans depend upon could be eliminated or curtailed if citizens do not vote their special interests in the 2024 election.
What is at stake? According to Project 2025, a detailed policy blueprint drafted by the Heritage Foundation (a conservative think tank), if democracy is weakened, we can expect:
- A Ban on Medication Abortion and Murder Charges for Women and Doctors
In the written document, Project 2025 advocates that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reverse approval of the two safe and effective medication abortion medications and using an 1873 anti-vice law called the Comstock Act to ban medication abortion and to criminalize materials used to provide basic abortion care. But the more radical supporters of Project 2025 want to go further. They are pressing for state laws that will charge women with homicide for taking abortion pills and using existing state laws to prosecute doctors with first degree murder if they help women access an abortion in another state. This is reality, not hyperbole. - Reduced Access to Contraception
A key strategy is federal policy that defines life as beginning at conception and using this definition to ban common forms of contraceptives. And if this is not enough, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote an opinion in the Dobbs case that could put the right of married couples to buy and use contraception on the chopping block. Thomas’s view is that striking down Roe v. Wade allows the court to reconsider other rulings that may be deemed “demonstrably erroneous,” such as the landmark 1965 decision that the Constitution protects marital privacy against state restrictions on contraception (Griswold v. Connecticut). Thomas is surrounded by other justices who subscribe to his same strict conservative Catholic beliefs, including Justice Samuel Alito, who sees no need for compromise and believes that his “side” must win. That’s a quote. - Ending IVF
By insisting that life begins at conception, Project 2025 would charge the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with finding ways to restrict In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), which relies on generating multiple embryos, most of which are discarded. However, this is just a safety valve. The House of Representatives already passed a bill to restrict IVF with most Republicans solidly in favor. - Government Tracking of Abortion
Answering to radical “dominionists” who want the “Laws of God,” as they interpret the Old Testament, to overrule secular belief systems, a number of red states are already tracking the personal information of women who receive reproductive care. The Project 2025 plan is for HHS to take this system nationwide by removing protections now in place and pressuring remaining states to comply by threatening to withhold their Medicaid funds. - Higher Prices for Seniors for Prescription Drugs
Project 2025 calls for repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act, resulting in over 1.5 million Medicare Part D enrollees seeing their out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs rise significantly. - Change Medicare
Project 2025 would make Medicare Advantage the default enrollment option for new enrollees, hastening an end to traditional Medicare plans where seniors can go to the providers they choose. This step would also consolidate control of the Medicare program by commercial health plans at the expense of seniors. - Rules That Put LGBTQ+ students at High Risk
Project 2025 would have the Secretary of Education remove a host of protections for LGBTQ+ students in schools. Influential pastors who subscribe to theonomy and are very influential in Republican circles, have authored books indicating they want gays and lesbians executed. What was once fringe thinking, is now reading material in Republican circles. - A Reversal of Gains Against Climate Change
Project 2025 would curtail Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actions against climate change by attacking “Endangerment Finding,” a provision of the Clean Air Act to lower emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and four other heat-trapping air pollutants from vehicles, power plants, and other industries. The saddest reality is that climate denialists take great comfort from evangelical opposition to any regulations designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions. - The End of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Project 2025 would further hinder climate change action by disbanding NOAA, which provides critical weather data and insightful scientific research. Political interference in science will come in many forms, but the most dangerous may be an effort to permanently meddle with NOAA and EPA’s scientific capacity under the guise of “reforming” the scientific process.
Project 2025’s far-reaching agenda would disregard individual freedoms in favor of political and ideological control. Thus, it is a clarion call that democracy in this country is under threat. If we do nothing, the rights we now enjoy as part of our democratic way of life will be a thing of the past.