Nurses condemn the Epstein class’ war on women

As a profession and union of predominantly women, the more than 225,000 registered nurse members of National Nurses United rise up in solidarity this Women's History Month 2026 to defy the global patriarchy that continually attacks and attempts to oppress us. While we celebrate all that women have achieved over the centuries, the gains in gender equity during modern history, and all the tremendous victories nurses have won over the past 50 years, we are also clear-eyed about how much work there is still to be done and how intently the Trump administration has launched a war on working-class women during his term - to the extent that he wants to revoke our right to vote.

Trump's circle of wealthy and powerful associates, whom we'll call the Epstein class, has throughout history likewise systematically harmed women and girls. Their abuse is compounded by Trump and his cabinet's blatant moves to conceal the evidence of the stories of many victims who were subject to unimaginable sexual abuse orchestrated by Epstein and his list of clients, including Trump himself.

The bottom line is that Trump, his buddies in the Epstein class, and the white Christian nationalists he depends upon for votes do not view women as equal. And if you are a Black or brown girl or woman, they may not even see you as a human being. They view women as property to control, use (or abuse), and do with as they like, whether it's forcing women to shoulder the unpaid labor of childbirth, caregiving, and homemaking; to be the underpaid workforce of their capitalist profit machine; or to endure their sexual assault, abuse, and pedophilic perversions. They have always acted this way and, as we've seen with the wide circle of seemingly respectable men (and women) eager to befriend Epstein, they are not an aberration, but the norm. Sadly, this mistreatment of women is not just limited to the most powerful and wealthy among us; patriarchy socializes men of all classes to see women and girls as lesser than. But the Epstein class is able to use its immense resources, power, and privilege to exponentially hurt more of us.

Just look at everything we've won or built that Trump and friends have attacked:

• They've taken away our federally protected right to an abortion, one of the single most important ways women can control their own lives, and are chipping away at birth control.
• They've eliminated affirmative action and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that have overwhelmingly benefited white women but have also given precious opportunities to women of color.
• They hired 20-something DOGE bros to use A.I. to terminate more than $750 million in National Institutes of Health funding because researchers dared to better understand the science of women's health.
• They refuse to prosecute the men in Epstein's circle who trafficked, raped, abused, and even killed hundreds of girls and women.
• They're abducting immigrant women, pregnant women, and girls off the streets and holding them indefinitely in detention, all while denying them adequate health care and even separating mothers from their babies and children.
• They've robbed our Veterans Health Administration nurses of their union rights.
• They've blocked us from borrowing the educational loans that we need to pursue graduate nursing degrees.
• They use our taxpayer dollars to bomb people in Iran, murdering more than 150 schoolgirls and injuring 100 in just one missile strike.
• They've literally erased women's history by deleting the names of women in leadership from NASA, Pentagon, and other government websites.
• And then they attack trans women everywhere in the name of "protecting women." It's outrageous.

As a female-dominated profession, not only are we nurses fighting these crimes against women by the Trump administration, but demanding justice for all the women and girls who survived Epstein's crimes. The government should release all the files, let the victims be heard, and vigorously prosecute all who have committed crimes. No one is above the law.

Now, the Trump administration is coming after the one thing that women still exercise as a direct avenue to reverse all of these horrors: our vote. With the urging of Trump, the Republicans are trying to pass the SAVE America Act, a bill that would effectively strip voting rights from millions of women. The legislation would require people to show proof of citizenship in person, such as a passport or birth certificate, when registering or reregistering to vote. The major problem is that about half of U.S. citizens do not carry a passport (getting one will cost at least $165), and women who've changed their surnames after marriage cannot use their birth certificate. Millions of women will lose their vote and their voice overnight if this bill passes. We can't let that happen.

Nurses know what a healthy society should look like and what it must be based upon: care. To ultimately respect, honor, and treat women as equals, we must center and value caregiving and taking care of one another. To us, that looks like a world where we are all guaranteed health care, decent housing, education, living-wage union jobs, a clean environment and sustainable planet, the freedom to move or stay, enjoy a peaceful and safe life, and to be our true selves.

To build this vision for a healthy society, we must take back our democracy. The first step is protecting our right to vote, so we are calling on everyone to defeat this sexist voting bill. Tell Congress to vote NO now. The future of women and girls depends on it.

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.