WOMEN'S WAY Responds to Passage of “Big Beautiful Bill”
July 11, 2025
The passage of the “Big Beautiful Bill” last week will have a deep and lasting impact on the lives of women and other gender-marginalized people across the country. While the harm it will cause is far-reaching, we know you already get what’s at stake because so many of you raised your voices and took action against it.
Alisha Gillespie, a member of our WOMEN’S WAY Speakers Bureau, is one example. She joined other healthcare advocates last month to demand that lawmakers reject these cuts by sharing her story. As someone who relied on Medicaid while raising three children and undergoing treatment for cancer, Alisha used her voice to advocate for the care that helped her and her family get through a difficult time:
“[There were] days that I couldn’t even get out of bed to make dinner, to even go to the bathroom. So, I can’t imagine having even a part-time job to try to make ends meet for surgeries or any type of treatment. If I didn’t have Medicaid, I wouldn’t have been able to survive. I think people need to really consider other people and what they’re going through before they make decisions that can impact everybody.”
And yet, despite the countless stories and voices like Alisha’s, we watched our elected officials still choose to strip away vital elements of our social safety net, fully aware of the harm they would cause within countless communities.
Here in Pennsylvania, 1 in 4 people are now projected to lose Medicaid coverage, among other services. Meanwhile, corporations and high-income Americans will benefit through tax breaks. This is wealth supremacy in action: a system rigged to protect wealth and power at the expense of care, dignity, and community.
Even as we name this harm, we also name our resolve to disrupt oppressive systems. This doesn’t have to be the way it is. A future rooted in love, dignity, and liberation is not only possible, but is being designed across the country by thousands of organizations, advocates, and grassroots organizers. We will keep working with our many partners towards that future because we know our communities are stronger when people can access the support they need when they need it.
Here's how to take action with us:
- Support and invest in local organizations that are filling critical gaps and forging the way forward. Our local nonprofit ecosystem needs your time, skills, and resources now more than ever.
- Share your story. Let PHAN know why Medicaid matters to you. Your voice can still shape the public narrative and fuel ongoing advocacy.
- Contact your representatives. Let Congress know how deeply disappointed you are in their decision to take healthcare and other support services away from our communities.
- Donate to our Rapid Response General Operating Fund, a pooled general operating fund which was created to move flexible funding quickly to nonprofits meeting urgent needs.
- Save the date and join us at the Gender Wealth Summit on September 26th, where we’ll come together to reimagine and strengthen our social safety net. Registration will open soon.
