By: Dino Alonso
Summary:
This episode exposes a chilling example of authoritarian cruelty masquerading as budget policy. Under the Trump administration, critical public health programs serving newborns and mothers were quietly dismantled—programs that screened babies for hearing loss, detected treatable genetic conditions, and monitored maternal risk factors across the country. These weren’t bloated government add-ons—they were the lifelines that caught illness early and saved lives.
We unpack what it means when a government targets the most defenseless among us: infants who cannot speak, vote, or protest. This is not just austerity—it’s a cold, calculated withdrawal of care from those least able to survive without it.
From these cuts, we draw a straight line to a broader authoritarian agenda that seeks to normalize neglect, institutionalize suffering, and condition the public to accept the unacceptable. If we do nothing, we become complicit in a regime that decides a baby’s hearing, health, or survival just isn’t worth the cost.
Why Listen:
This episode is a siren, not a whisper. It’s for anyone who still believes that a nation is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable. The question isn’t whether we can afford these programs. The question is: What kind of people would we be if we let them disappear?
Sourcing Note:
This episode draws extensively from Time Magazine’s reporting in the article “How Having a Baby Is Changing Under Trump,” published April 17, 2024.
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