Heroic Congresswoman Points Out the Biggest Flaw in This Trump Photo

When President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reinstate the Mexico City Policy (also known as the "global gag order"), he limited women's access to reproductive health care across the world. The policy prevents federal aid from going to organizations that provide family planning assistance if the counsel includes even so much as the mention of abortion.

Trump signed the order encircled by men. People noticed.

It obvious what's wrong with this picture: there is nothing fair about a room full of men attempting to control what women do with their bodies. If regulations that affect mainly women are instituted, shouldn't women at least be consulted?

Carolyn Maloney, a House representative from New York City, noticed the troubling lack of women in the photo — and she wasn't the only one. Kamala Harris, the new California senator, asked her followers on Twitter, "What's wrong with this photo?"

Maloney took her outrage a step further. Addressing the House on the reinstatement of the policy, she literally asked her colleagues to spot the women. "Look at this picture," Maloney said, holding up the photo of Trump's signing. "Where are the women?" She continued, "Yesterday, the president signed an executive order affecting and restricting health care for millions of women across the world while no woman was present."

Maloney has staunchly advocated for women's rights throughout her career. In 2012, as The Cut notes, Maloney asked the same question to an all-male panel on healthcare companies covering contraception. "When I look at this panel, I don't see one single woman representing the tens of millions of women across the country who want and need insurance coverage for basic, preventative healthcare services," Maloney said. "Where are the women?"

It should be noted that American aid has never paid for abortions home or abroad; the gag rule order, which was first introduced by Reagan but rescinded by Obama, is particularly stringent since it bans even the discussion of abortion with patients. That means that family planning nonprofits who have received support from the American government (which was $600 million last fiscal year) in the past will not receive further assistance even if they don't actually provide abortions.

This policy is yet another demonstration of how women are systematically oppressed by America's male-dominated leadership.