MERJ Newsletter 1/22/2025

A man stands out in front of a rainy protest at the Supreme Court, holding a sign that reads “Health and Safety Don’t Need Historical Precedent,” alongside other protestors holding signs. Photo credit: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/AP Photo

Results of our End-of-Year Appeal

Thank you to everyone who donated as part of MERJ’s 2024 end of year fundraiser! We successfully raised over $6,400 for the Middle Eastern Children’s Alliance, Elevated Access, and local reproductive justice organizations around the country!Your generosity during these troubled times is making a real difference. Thank you again!

A letter from MERJ’s co-founder

Standing Strong in 2025:
Protecting Reproductive Justice, Defending the Rights of Birthing People

Happy New Year from all of us at Men for Equity and Reproductive Justice! As we step into 2025, we carry with us the lessons and victories of the past year—while also facing a harsh reality. The fight for reproductive rights is far from over, and the challenges ahead are only growing.

In recent weeks, Donald Trump has doubled down on his commitment to rolling back the civil rights of transgender people. And, of course, his continued attempts to undermine access to safe abortion, birth control, and gender-affirming care threaten to set us back decades.

But we are not backing down.

At Men for Equity and Reproductive Justice, we are actively confronting these dangerous movements through both strategic, compassionate reflection, and bold action. We understand that reproductive justice isn’t just about access to abortion—it’s about ensuring that everyone, regardless of gender, race, or socioeconomic status, has the resources and power to make decisions about their own bodies. That bottom line demands that everyone has access to health care, economic security, a quality education, and an end to state violence.

In 2025, we’re ramping up our efforts to push back against anti-reproductive justice forces. Together, we are building power; educating and calling in men to join in this critical work; and amplifying the voices of those who are too often silenced.

In the face of this onslaught, we ask for your continued partnership and support. Together, we can:

Defend reproductive health care access for all, especially in states where access is being eroded.
Combat misinformation and ensure that the truth about reproductive justice is widely understood.
Support and fund local organizations that are leading the charge for change in their communities.

Stay tuned for upcoming actions, events, and ways you can get involved this year. Change is possible—especially if men take responsibility for doing their part in the fight for reproductive justice for all!

Thank you for your continued support.

In solidarity,

Justin Haas
Co-founder, Men for Equity and Reproductive Justice

📖 5-Minute Power Read, from the Associated Press:

“Lawsuit alleges Vermont tracks pregnant women deemed unsuitable for parenthood”
Written by Holly Ramer. Updated January 17, 2025.
Excerpt: “Vermont’s child welfare agency relied on baseless allegations about a pregnant woman’s mental health to secretly investigate her and win custody of her daughter before the baby was born, according to a lawsuit that alleges the state routinely targets and tracks pregnant women deemed unsuitable for parenthood. … She had no idea that while she was in labor, hospital officials were relaying updates to the state—including details of her cervix dilation—and had won temporary custody of the fetus. … It took her seven months to win full custody of her daughter.”
Here is the actual lawsuit filing, if you’d like to read more about this specific, egregious case in a theoretically “pro-choice” state.

🔊👂🏽 Power Listen:

**“When the way is blocked, we pivot.”**
Season 1, Episode 36 of **“The Amendment,”** with Errin Haines & Martha S. Jones.

From their website: “In this final episode of The Amendment, host Errin Haines reflects on the recent presidential election and its implications for gender, race, and democracy. She talks with historian Martha S. Jones about the stark racial divides in voting patterns and the importance of coalition building in the fight for equality in the face of setbacks.” Originally broadcast November 14, 2024.
This episode of this remarkable feminist podcast is 46 minutes long, and worth every second.

💸 Amazing Organization to Support:

📚 MERJ Book Club!

If you’re interested in joining the MERJ Leadership Team in reading and discussing this book, email us at action@endthepatriarchy.org and we’ll be happy to invite you to our book discussions!

*Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win,* by Jessica Valenti

Published October 1, 2024; notes below from Penguin Random House website.
*NEW YORK TIMES* BESTSELLER • In a stirring and succinct examination of post-*Roe* America, “one of the most successful and visible feminists of her generation” (*Washington Post*) takes on what’s become the country’s most resonant political issue.

**A *KIRKUS REVIEWS* BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR**

In her most urgent book yet, *New York Times* bestselling author Jessica Valenti shines a light on the conservative assault on women’s freedom, cutting through the misinformation and overwhelm to inform, engage, and enrage. From the attacks Americans know about to the ones anti-abortion lawmakers and groups are trying to hide, Valenti details the tactics and horrors that she’s been painstakingly tracking in her acclaimed newsletter, *Abortion, Every Day*.
Award-winning writer and activist **Jessica Valenti** is the author of seven books, including the *New York Times* bestseller *Sex Object: A Memoir.* Her groundbreaking anthology, *Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape*, paved the way for legislation of the same name, setting what’s now considered the gold standard for sexual consent. Jessica has also been credited with sparking feminism’s online wave by founding the trailblazing blog Feministing. She’s been a columnist for *The Guardian* and *The Nation*, and her writing has been published everywhere from *The New York Times* and *The Atlantic* to *Bitch* magazine and *The Toast*. After the demise of *Roe*, Jessica founded *Abortion, Every Day*, an urgent synthesis of anything and everything happening with abortion rights in the United States. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.
***Please also consider supporting Jessica Valenti’s up-to-the-minute and incredibly important journalism (“Abortion Every Day”) by subscribing to her **Substack!**

We recently completed, and strongly recommend, this easy-to-read and powerful book as well:

*Ejaculate Responsibly: A Whole New Way to Think About Abortion,* by Gabrielle Blair

Published in 2022; notes below from Bookshop.org
**In *Ejaculate Responsibly*, Gabrielle Blair offers a provocative reframing of the abortion issue in post-*Roe* America.**
In a series of 28 brief arguments, Blair deftly makes the case for moving the abortion debate away from controlling and legislating women's bodies and instead directs the focus on men's lack of accountability in preventing unwanted pregnancies.
Highly readable, accessible, funny, and unflinching, Blair builds her argument by walking readers through the basics of fertility (men are 50 times more fertile than women), the unfair burden placed on women when it comes to preventing pregnancy (90% of the birth control market is for women), the wrongheaded stigmas around birth control for men (condoms make sex less pleasurable, vasectomies are scary and emasculating), and the counterintuitive reality that men, who are fertile 100% of the time, take little to no responsibility for preventing pregnancy.
The result is a compelling and convincing case for placing the responsibility--and burden--of preventing unwanted pregnancies away from women and onto men.

Help and Resources to Share with Anyone Needing an Abortion: (from ifwhenhow.org)

Find a local clinic by using the National Abortion Federation map.
If you have questions about your legal rights and self-managed abortion, the Repro Legal Helpline is a free, confidential source for legal advice and information. Visit ReproLegalHelpline.org or call 844-868-2812.
If you are under 18 and need information about your rights to an abortion, you can message or call our Repro Legal Helpline at 844-868-2812. You can also read more about your rights on our Judicial Bypass Wiki.
If you have been arrested, contacted by the police, or fear you may be arrested for a self-managed abortion, our Repro Legal Helpline can provide immediate legal advice and support, and our Repro Legal Defense Fund can help with bail and legal fees. You can call our Repro Legal Helpline at 844-868-2812, and for help with bail and other fees, visit ReproLegalDefenseFund.org.
Medically-reviewed, step-by-step directions for how to self-administer a medication abortion using mifepristone and misoprostol can be found on the Hey Jane website.

MERJ Newsletter 1/22/2025

Results of our End-of-Year Appeal

A letter from MERJ’s co-founder

📖 5-Minute Power Read, from the Associated Press: