How Project 2025 Impacts Family Planning (And Why We're Scared)

Family planning such as IVF, birth control, abortion, and more are rooted deep into Project 2025. If this initiative is enacted, the ways Project 2025 impacts family planning would impact so many families. It's understandable that people are scared and trying to figure out how to be proactive. I'm not an expert in politics or Project 2025, but I am a coach who supports numerous couples and individuals thinking about the topics of their reproductive freedom and options. I have held space for people to shed tears about why family planning means so much to them. Whether it's the couple that desperately wants children but is struggling with their fertility, or the couple that cannot fathom having another child whether that's because of the financial situation, postpartum mental health, lack of childcare options, or a hundred other valid reasons.

This post is not meant to be your main informant about Project 2025, but to give you an overview I sourced with hopefully some comfort and encouragement. I also am including ways to talk to loved ones who may have voted for the Trump administration to let them know why this is so disappointing to you and how it puts you and your family at risk.

For parents or anyone planning to start a family, it’s no surprise if Project 2025 has caught your attention lately. This initiative, led by the Heritage Foundation and similar conservative groups, could make significant changes to reproductive health options in the U.S. to reshape policies around birth control, abortion access, and assisted reproductive technologies like IVF. Project 2025 impacts family planning and raises important questions for everyone.

The Core of Project 2025: What It Proposes for Family Planning

Project 2025 isn’t just a distant policy plan; it’s a comprehensive agenda that conservative political groups aim to implement if they gain leadership in 2025. It's so much a comprehensive agenda that you can search online and find the whole thing. All 922 pages of it. The plan’s main proposals touch on several core family planning options:

1. Restrictions on Contraception Access
   The initiative could limit public funding for family planning services and potentially restrict access to various birth control methods. For families, this could mean fewer affordable options for contraception, with some groups behind the initiative supporting traditional family structures over contraceptive use. Honestly, this one confuses me because it seems like old white men are setting their sons up for a lot less sex.
2. Stricter Anti-Abortion Laws
   Project 2025 advocates for more restrictive abortion laws, which may include challenging medical abortion options and restricting mifepristone (a medication used for early abortion care). This could impact access to safe, legal abortion services across the country, regardless of state policies. This is where it's not about "pro-life" it's about "pro-forcing-birth." Once "pro-life" advocates start addressing the needs of people out of the womb, I'll listen more to the "pro-life" argument.
3. Regulations on IVF and Assisted Reproductive Technologies
   Project 2025 also aims to change how assisted reproductive technologies, like IVF and surrogacy, are funded and regulated. For families hoping to conceive through IVF, this could mean more hoops to jump through, or in some cases, limited access altogether. These proposed changes raise difficult questions for couples facing infertility and for single parents or LGBTQ+ families who may rely on ART to grow their families. Is this still pro-life? I mean loving parents who want to care for kids and kids who need loving parents... how does it make sense to limit that?

The Timeline: When Could These Changes Take Effect?

With proponents of Project 2025 taking office in the 2024 election cycle, policy changes could begin as early as 2025. While some initial shifts might start through executive orders, larger changes would depend on Congress and potential legal challenges. So while it’s not a certainty, the proposals could take shape within the next few years. I'll be honest, even though we weren't SURE we are done having kids, we're scheduling the vasectomy and it sucks that someone else made that choice for us.

What This Means for Families Making Family Planning Decisions

1. Thinking About Contraception Access
   For those who rely on birth control, consider talking to your healthcare provider about long-term methods, such as IUDs or implants, which might be less impacted by funding cuts or future restrictions.
2. Exploring Your Options for IVF or Other ART
   If ART (assisted reproductive technology) like IVF or surrogacy is part of your family’s plan, it may help to move up your timeline for consultations or treatments. For couples already navigating fertility treatments, the unknowns surrounding Project 2025 could make accessing affordable care more challenging in the years ahead. Knowing your options now can help you be proactive.

Taking Steps to Prepare and Protect Your Family’s Future

1. Stay Informed
   Policies are evolving, and staying up-to-date through trusted sources like the Guttmacher Institute or the Center for Reproductive Rights can help you make decisions that align with your family’s values and needs.
2. Consider Sharing Your Story
   If this issue feels close to home, consider voicing your concerns with representatives or joining advocacy efforts. Personal stories often highlight the real impact of family planning options better than any policy debate alone. There are many state and national groups where moms can speak up and join advocacy. Your fire is your fuel, and we need it to keep going.
3. Review Your Financial and Healthcare Plans
   If family planning changes may impact your future, look into creating an emergency fund, health savings account, or supplemental insurance to cover any reproductive healthcare needs. (But let's vote for cheaper eggs, right?)

Talking to Family Members Who Support Project 2025 Policies

Navigating these conversations isn’t easy, but with open and honest dialogue, it’s possible to bridge some of the divide:

• Lead with Personal Stories
  Sharing why access to contraception, abortion, or assisted reproductive technologies matters to you personally can help bring the issue closer to home for family members. For example, let them know how birth control has shaped your choices or how ART has given hope to many families.
• Explain the Practical Impact
  Focus on how restricted access might affect your family’s options day-to-day. Many people don’t realize how access to birth control, abortion, or ART could be limited until they see it impacting someone they love.
• Acknowledge Shared Values While Expressing Your Own Needs
  Let family members know that while you understand their beliefs, you also believe that families should have the freedom to choose what’s best for them. This opens space for mutual respect without minimizing the importance of your own concerns.

By keeping these conversations grounded in your real-life experiences, you may help loved ones see why these changes are significant. Project 2025 isn’t just a political concept; it’s something that could directly impact your family’s future.

Communicating Your Need to Set Boundaries as You Grieve

If you're finding it necessary to communicate your need for boundaries, or even some distance, from someone who voted for Trump, it’s okay to be open about needing space to process your emotions and maintain your well-being. You might say something like:

"I need you to know that this election has brought up a lot of difficult emotions for me, and I’m still processing how it all feels. Right now, I need some space to work through these feelings, and that might mean having less interaction for a while. This isn't about rejecting our relationship, but creating a safe space where I can manage my feelings and think clearly. I hope you can understand and respect this boundary."

This approach acknowledges your need for space while clarifying that it's not about ending the relationship, but about finding a way to protect your emotional health as you navigate through your own perspective and healing.