When Democracy Is for Sale: The Trauma of Citizens United and the Price We All Pay

"When we treat corporations like people and ignore the trauma of the people themselves, we don’t have a democracy—we have a transaction masquerading as freedom." - Mary Coughlin

There’s a wound in our democracy that’s been bleeding for over a decade.
Its name is Citizens United.

When the Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that corporations and unions could spend unlimited funds to influence elections—as long as they didn’t coordinate directly with a candidate—they framed it as a matter of free speech. But we know better.
Because in trauma-informed care, we understand that freedom without accountability is not freedom at all—it’s harm.

At the heart of trauma-informed developmental care is the commitment to voice, choice, safety, and justice—not just for individuals, but for systems. We teach that the experiences of early life shape a lifetime. That the environments we create—our policies, our practices, our cultural norms—can either buffer stress or embed harm.

And here’s the truth we don’t say loudly enough:

Citizens United embedded harm.

It codified the idea that money is speech, and in doing so, it silenced millions. It gave corporations—entities without a nervous system, a soul, or a lived experience—the same rights as people. And not just any people: wealthy, powerful ones with lobbyists, lawyers, and a limitless supply of influence.

What Happens When Systems Ignore Trauma?

In trauma-informed care, we don’t just treat symptoms. We ask, “What happened to you?” We look beneath the behavior to understand the history, the harm, the unmet needs.
So let’s ask it of our democracy:

What happened to us?

What happened that we decided corporate interests deserved louder voices than parents advocating for safe neonatal care?

What happened that we normalized the buying of elections while underfunding maternal mental health, pediatric research, and trauma-informed education?

What happened that we made space for billionaires in the voting booth, but not for families navigating medical trauma or communities grieving systemic injustice?

The Nervous System of Democracy

I often speak of the nervous system—its fragility, its brilliance, its power to heal. I believe our democracy has a nervous system, too. And it is dysregulated.

Citizens United was a rupture. It tilted the balance away from relational safety and toward dominance, disconnection, and disempowerment.
We are now a nation where many feel unseen, unheard, unsafe—hallmarks of trauma. And like all trauma, this silence festers.

But here’s what we know as trauma-informed professionals:
Silence is not consent. And disconnection is not destiny.

We Can REIMAGINE the System

It’s not enough to patch the wounds. We need to go deeper.
We need to restore voice, regulate power, and reclaim our sacred right to shape the systems that shape us.

Citizens United must be named not just as a legal ruling, but as a trauma. One that reverberates across generations, disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable among us.

That’s why I believe our work—whether at the incubator bedside, in a family support room, or at the ballot box—is not just clinical. It is civic. Sacred. Systemic.

And it’s why I stand with others calling for:

• Campaign finance reform

• A constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United

• Transparent governance where people, not profits, define the future

A Trauma-Responsive Democracy

Trauma-informed developmental care doesn’t belong only in the NICU. It belongs in the Constitution. The courtroom. The campaign trail.

We are not just healthcare professionals.
We are weavers. Bridge-builders. Truth-tellers.

We know what it means to buffer stress, to create environments where healing can happen. Let us bring that wisdom to our democracy.

Because the future of care depends on the future of governance.
And the future of governance must be rooted in love, justice, and radical belonging.

Call to Reflection

• What does it mean to “care out loud” in the face of injustice that’s been legalized?

• How can you use your voice, your story, your vote to challenge systems of disconnection?

• What would a trauma-informed democracy look like? Feel like?
  And what’s one step you can take today to help build it?

With fierce hope and unwavering purpose,
Mary

P.S. Ready to become the healer this world so desperately needs? Step into your power as a Trauma-Informed Professional (TIP) and join a global movement reimagining care, justice, and belonging. 🌍💛 LEARN MORE HERE