Trump’s First 100 Days: A Brutal Assault on Human Rights and Sexual Freedom – And Woodhull Won’t Back Down

April 28, 2025

In the first 100 days of Trump’s second term, chaos and cruelty have taken center stage. From slashing the federal workforce under the guise of “efficiency,” to issuing Executive Orders targeting trans communities, to flouting judicial authority and threatening civil liberties – these past weeks have been exhausting and heartbreaking.

But at Woodhull, we are undeterred. We believe in – and are fighting for – protection for everyone’s fundamental human right to sexual freedom.

What We Stand For 

Sexual freedom is the right of all people to:

• Explore and express their unique sexuality
• Exercise bodily autonomy and privacy
• Enjoy consensual sexual expression without fear, stigma, or interference

At Woodhull, we’ve been around for 22 years, and we work to protect these rights every single day, no matter who’s in power.

With the stakes this high in the fight for freedom, failure is not an option. That’s why we’re inviting you to do your part and join the Vanguard Society as a monthly donor. Your support fuels a future where everyone’s freedom is protected.

Fighting Back with Purpose

While Trump 2.0 floods the news cycle with chaos to distract and divide, we’ve remained focused, agile, and strategic.

We have joined our allies defending free speech to oppose DOGE’s unconstitutional targeting of government critics engaging their First Amendment right to express their righteous disdain for the dismantling of the federal government.

We have been strategic by focusing our attention on state and local-level battles to support legislative efforts that expand protections for and enjoyment of sexual freedom while opposing those that erode our fundamental human rights.

We advocated directly with local lawmakers across the country, including in Arizona, Florida, Oklahoma, Washington State, New York State, Rhode Island, California, Montana, and Colorado.

By taking this fight for sexual freedom to the states, we were able to work across a range of issues that are crucial to the mission of Woodhull, including:

Opposing Harmful Legislation

We’ve stood up against bills that endanger privacy, free speech, and bodily autonomy.

• Age Verification laws, which threaten privacy and free speech rights

• • Called on SCOTUS to strike down Texas’s age verification law, which unconstitutionally burdens adults’ access to protected speech online.
  • Joined 90 civil rights and privacy organizations condemning ID-checking bills because they are ineffective, fuel censorship, and risk privacy.
  • Submitted testimony to the Colorado legislature to oppose a proposed age verification bill that threatens access to critical educational resources for LGBTQIA+ youth and individuals seeking reproductive health information.
  • Wrote a letter to Arizona Senators urging them to oppose age verification bills that restrict access to legal content and are part of a broader attack on free expression.

• Ineffective anti-trafficking initiatives that harm sex workers and perpetuate stigma

• • Urged the Jacksonville, Florida Mayor to fight for sex work decriminalization over ineffective and harmful punitive anti-trafficking approaches.
  • Wrote a letter to California Assembly members to oppose a bill attempting to criminalize loitering with intent to purchase sex, which would increase dangers for sex workers and trafficking survivors while facilitating biased policing against communities of color and gay men.
  • Urged California Assemblymembers to not revive a flawed law that criminalizes loitering with the intent to engage in prostitution and was previously repealed because it disproportionately targeted and harmed people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those experiencing poverty.
• Ultra-conservative bills that erode the separation between church and state
  • Opposed a slate of alarming bills introduced in Oklahoma which sought to ban abortions, ban pornography, ban drag shows, ban no-fault divorces, and create state tax credits for “covenant marriages”.
  • Submitted testimony to the Oklahoma Senate Public Safety Committee opposing a bill that would ban drag shows and threaten the safety of drag performers.
• Cruel bathroom bans meant to harass and target the trans community
  • Testified against Montana’s proposed trans bathroom ban and has tracked its progression since being signed into law and challenged in court.

Supporting the Right Solutions

We don’t just say no – we advocate and push forward better policy.

• Digital Privacy

• • Privacy protections online that help secure sensitive data, including that related to reproductive healthcare and abortion access
    • Submitted testimony in support of a Washington State House bill that sought to create more robust online privacy protections.

• Sex Worker Rights

• • Critically needed policy solutions to protect the health and rights of sex workers and make the sex industry safer
    • Sent letters of support to lawmakers in New York and Rhode Island urging them to take quick action to protect sex workers and survivors of trafficking in their states by providing them with immunity from arrest and prosecution for certain prostitution crimes when reporting being a witness or victim of crime to law enforcement.
    • Urged Rhode Island’s Senate Judiciary Committee to support a bill that would repeal provisions that add additional fees to those convicted of prostitution-related offenses, which create significant financial burdens.
    • Called on lawmakers in New York and Rhode Island to decriminalize sex work and end the unjust criminalization of consenting adults who trade sex, collaborate with or support peers, or patronize adult sex workers.

This work doesn’t stop.

We rely on monthly supporters to keep going strong, especially when rights are under attack.

Fight for freedom monthly and join The Vanguard Society.

Yes, the first 100 days of Trump’s second term have been brutal. But in this struggle, we are not broken – we are building.

We’re building networks. Building resistance. Building power from the ground up.

Funding freedom means securing the future for all.

Will you join us?

For more information on our work, email: [email protected].