Last week, Congress passed a bill that is not only cruel, but calculated. The so-called “One Big, Beautiful Bill” does more than slash access to Medicaid, it strikes at the very foundations of care, safety, and survival that the majority of people living with HIV rely on. It is a coordinated attack on those most impacted by systemic oppression. The passing of this bill is structural violence in action.
This bill is a massive redistribution of wealth from poor and working class families to the uber-wealthy. It includes the largest Medicaid and SNAP cuts in U.S. history, and additional rollbacks that will gut social safety nets, defund essential programs, and deepen economic disparities. It supercharges Trump’s immigration detention and deportation machine, funneling billions into policies rooted in cruelty, racism, classism, and xenophobia while handing out massive tax breaks to billionaires and corporations who already exploit our communities. This is not just policy failure, it is moral failure. It is legislative abandonment. It is a public health disaster. It rolls back decades of progress in the fight for the rights, health, and dignity of all people living in the U.S.
Women (cis and trans), gender diverse, and transgender folks living with HIV, especially Black, Indigenous, Latine, and poor and working class people, already face discriminatory systems that punish us for surviving. We know there is a lot of uncertainty and you will feel you need to do what is necessary to take care of yourself. Over time, this bill will push many of us further into the margins, force us out of care, increase criminalization, destabilize and separate our families, and lead to preventable illness and death. In this moment, we want our members and supporters to know that we will fight every day for access to lifesaving care, stable housing, and justice.
The passing of the horrendous “One Big, Beautiful Bill” is not about the federal budget, it’s about the values of our country. It’s about whose lives are seen as worth protecting, and whose are disposable.
Let the passing of this bill serve as a reminder: we will never forget who orchestrated this harm. We will name names, demand accountability, track impact, and continue organizing until justice is not the exception, but the standard.
PWN-USA stands firm in the face of this attack. We will not be silent. We will organize, we will resist, and we will care for each other when the government refuses to.
We want to take a moment to offer our deepest gratitude to our HIV community, especially our PWN members and our staff who continue to show up with unwavering commitment, courage, and love for our people. Your tireless efforts and bold advocacy are what keep this movement alive.
From countless hours spent phone banking and knocking doors, to organizing and attending town halls, to standing on the frontlines at rallies and protests—you have led with your whole hearts. You’ve mobilized your communities, educated elected officials, challenged systems of power, and made it undeniably clear that our lives are worth fighting for and we will fight for them. Many of you have risked your safety and well-being by putting your bodies on the line—because you know what’s at stake.
To every person living with HIV, to every person of trans experience, to every person of color, to every single mother, elder, and disabled person, to every immigrant, to every person living below the poverty line impacted by this bill: we see you. We are with you. And we will keep fighting alongside you.
This is not the end. This is our call to rise!
In Solidarity,
Evany Turk and Marnina Miller
Co-Executive Directors, Positive Women’s Network-USA
