This article appears as part of the Unspun: Scottish Politics newsletter.

A convicted felon who advised men to grab women ‘by the p****’, who filled the Supreme Court with judges to reverse Roe vs Wade, ending the federal right to abortion. A man who has multiple sexual violence allegations levelled against him. America has chosen him to be the ‘ruler of the free world’. Yet now many women fear their freedoms and choices will be further clamped down on under his presidency.

"I really thought we were ready for a woman in the White House", a friend from Boston texted me this morning. Although living in "a very blue state", as she described it, she said she was shocked and upset when it became apparent Donald Trump was making gains across America and Kamala Harris was lagging behind. Her mum texted her saying she was so grateful for being in the state of Massachusetts but they worry about the future. 

And it's not just one Boston pen pal worried. Friends and women’s rights campaigners across Scotland have told me they are most worried about the further restrictions to women’s reproductive rights now Trump is in power.

I’ve been covering abortion stories across Scotland for years now and America has often been the place activists point to as the ‘bad example’ for reproductive rights. Now they worry this will only get worse. Federal restrictions could come into place as Trump’s Project 2025 proposes using the 1873 Comstock Act. This would outlaw the mailing of abortion-related materials  - essentially banning the shipping of abortion pills. If the act in full is implemented, this could also lead to a de facto abortion ban nationwide as it would prohibit clinics from using essential equipment for certain procedures. 

Read more from the Unspun political newsletter: 

What the US election means for Scotland? 

The F-Word: Is Donald Trump a fascist?

Is Kemi Badenoch's Tory leadership Boris Johnson 2.0?

“It is a dark day for women’s rights in the USA and it can be felt across the world.”, Lucy Grieve from Back Off Scotland, a campaign group advocating for better access to abortion care, told me. Although 'one silver lining' of the elections was the multiple pro-choice victories in states where abortions rights were on the ballot (such as Missouri where they have voted to undo one of the US's most restrictive abortion bans), Ms Grieve said she was 'devastated' to wake up to the news that Mr Trump, who has said women need to be 'punished' for having abortions, is back in power. 

Jenni Snell, CEO of the Young Women’s Movement in Scotland, said the Trump and Vance campaign position on reproductive healthcare “sets a precedent that threatens young women’s physical and mental health internationally.”

Ms Snell added: “In Scotland, we know from our 2023 Status of Young Women in Scotland research that young women already face multiple barriers to accessing healthcare.

"25% of young women told us that they don’t feel safe accessing timely care, especially in relation to abortion and reproductive services.” 

The re-election of Donald Trump still hangs over many women here and across the pond like a dark cloud.

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Cat Murphy from Engender Scotland said the reach of Mr Trump’s agenda isn’t solely confined to the US and a recent poll in Scotland indicated “concerningly high levels of support” for him.

A quarter of adults living in Scotland wanted Mr Trump to win the election, according to a recent Norstat poll before the US results came out. This revealed that Scots like Donald Trump more than any other Western European country. In comparison, across the whole of the UK, only 16 per cent wanted Mr Trump in power. 

Ms Murphy added: “We can’t afford to be complacent about what this means here in Scotland. We face a huge challenge in combatting the spread of misinformation, misogynistic and racist rhetoric and anti-rights narratives that have been so evident during the US election and are on the rise globally.” 

For Talat Yaqoob, an equalities campaigner and researcher, she is worried his re-election “legitimises further misogyny and racism and it is women, particularly women of colour and migrant women, who will feel the worst of it.”

Ms Yaqoob added: “All of this, alongside the global consequences of his authoritarian presidency will create a harrowing four years.” 

Although thousands of miles separate us from the States, the concern from many women here is that a man who has made some incredibly questionable decisions around women’s rights is now leading the most powerful country in the world. With that sort of power comes a huge swell of influence that can impact societies across the globe.

Sure, we can we can laugh at the man who doesn't know how to apply his very orange foundation and randomly shouts "they're eating the dogs" or mock him for making inappropriate hand gestures with a mic stand at a rally -  but are we truly prepared for the decisions he makes and the influence he now wields? 

So Scotland, let's keep the heid and remember to respect women and their rights.