By Tom Shaheen,
As President Donald Trump marks his first 100 days in office, it’s clear that this administration has taken bold steps to restore commonsense protections for families, advance the pro-life cause, and defend parents’ rights in education and healthcare. From executive orders safeguarding children from harmful medical interventions to decisive action preserving fairness in women’s sports and defending peaceful pro-life advocates, the Trump administration is offering more than rhetoric—it is delivering results. Here’s a look at how these early actions are already making an impact in Pennsylvania.
Protecting Minors from Harmful Transgender Surgeries and Hormones
Eight days into his term, President Trump signed the executive order Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation. This directive ended taxpayer funding for transgender procedures involving minors, granted victims of these experimental interventions the right to sue, and opened the door for prosecution of those performing such surgeries. The message was clear: hospitals profiting from the transgender industry would be held accountable.
Since this order, we’ve already seen major medical institutions shift course. UPMC and Penn State Health—two of Pennsylvania’s largest healthcare systems—have announced they will no longer perform these procedures on minors. This is a direct result of the Trump administration putting the brakes on the dangerous and profit-driven push to medicalize gender confusion in children.
Protecting Fairness in Women’s Sports
In another major victory, President Trump issued the executive order Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports, declaring that his administration would prosecute Title IX violations against schools and universities that force women to compete against or appear undressed before biological males. The order rightly called such policies “demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls.”
This comes as a welcome relief to female athletes across the nation—including those like swimmers Riley Gaines and Paula Scanlan, who were forced to compete against biological males and surrender their privacy in the University of Pennsylvania locker rooms.
Just this week, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) found that the University of Pennsylvania violated Title IX by allowing biological males to compete on women’s athletic teams and access women-only spaces. The university now has 10 days to reach a resolution agreement or face referral to the Department of Justice. This ruling follows the administration’s March decision to freeze $175 million in federal funding to Penn over its transgender athletics policies.
Pardoned Peaceful Pro-Life Advocates
President Trump also took action to defend peaceful pro-life citizens unjustly targeted under the Biden administration. He signed pardons for 23 nonviolent pro-life advocates, many of them elderly, who faced excessive federal charges and prison time for simple protest actions outside abortion clinics.
We’re reminded of the case of Mark Houck, a Bucks County father of seven, who was arrested at his home by a team of federal agents for defending his son from a hostile abortion clinic escort. Though Houck was ultimately acquitted by a jury, the Biden Justice Department’s aggressive tactics sent a chilling message to sidewalk counselors across the country. President Trump’s decision to pardon others like him reaffirms the right to peacefully advocate for life—and signals a return to justice and common sense.
In just 100 days, the Trump administration has shown a willingness to take meaningful action where it counts—defending children, preserving fairness, and protecting the rights of the faithful. As these policies continue to unfold, families in Pennsylvania have good reason to be hopeful about what’s to come.
