MERJ Newsletter 5/26/2025
Taken at a demonstration in Washington, DC, before the 2024 election.
“Every crisis, actual or impending, needs to be viewed as an opportunity to bring about profound changes in our society. Going beyond protest organizing, visionary organizing begins by creating images and stories of the future that help us imagine and create alternatives to the existing system.
”
A letter from MERJ’s co-founder
May 26, 2025
Birthing People as Human Incubators: Men Demand Justice for Adriana Smith
Dear MERJ Community,
I write to you today filled with outrage. Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old nurse and mother from Georgia, was declared brain dead after suffering a medical emergency. However, she remains on life support—not by her family's choice, but due to Georgia's restrictive abortion laws that prioritize fetal rights over a woman's autonomy.
Adriana was nine weeks pregnant when she experienced severe headaches, which were misdiagnosed. Subsequently, she was found unresponsive and declared brain dead due to multiple blood clots in her brain. Citing Georgia's draconian 6-week abortion ban, the hospital has maintained Smith on life-support to allow the fetus to develop. If this were happening to a man’s body, would we have laws like this…?
To add incredible insult to the emotional devastation that this situation brings to Adriana’s family, the hospital has informed them that they are also responsible for the financial burden of Adriana’s hospital “care” as well. Her mother, April Newkirk, describes the current situation as “torture,” emphasizing the trauma of being denied a choice in medical decisions.
MERJ stands with Adriana's family in demanding:
Respect for Adriana's bodily autonomy: Recognize her legal status as deceased and honor her family's right to make decisions about her care.
Immediate reevaluation of Georgia's abortion laws: Ensure that legislation does not override the rights and dignity of women, especially in cases where an impacted woman is legally dead.
Transparent communication from medical institutions: Hospitals must provide clear information and respect the decisions of patients and their families without fear of legal consequences.
Adriana Smith's case is not isolated; it reflects a broader issue where women's rights are compromised by restrictive laws.
Take Action:
Become a Clinic Escort:
Support Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Care Organizations
Raise awareness: Share Adriana's story (NPR - Justice for Adriana Smith)
Together, we can honor Adriana's memory by ensuring that no other family endures such a harrowing experience.
In solidarity,
Justin Haas
MERJ Co-Founder
📖 2-Minute Power Read, from MERJ Co-Founder George Marx:
“Let’s show that we care, for a change”: A reflection on two articles about Adriana Smith
Article 1: “Georgia’s Abortion Ban Is Forcing a Family to Keep Their Brain Dead Daughter Alive”
Article 2: “Family says woman declared brain dead but her pregnancy continues under state law”
Adriana Smith, a Black Woman, and her family, have suffered unthinkable degradation and maltreatment at the hands of the state and legislature of Georgia since the middle of February.
Where are we, men—particularly white men—actively working to stop things like this from happening? When are we talking with each other about such issues? When are we organizing? Do we even really care?
I suggest that we start talking with each other about such issues now. Unless we talk with each other, sharing our feelings and concerns, it will be difficult to end men’s relative silence we have. It is men’s silence—and complicity—which allows horrible things like this to continue. This is especially true for those of us who are white men. We’re generally are the ones who push for laws restricting others, primarily women and girls on issues related to their health, including their reproductive health. We’re the ones who push for openly punitive legislation; as Adam Serwer wrote, and Jessica Valenti frequently reminds us, “the cruelty is the point.” And it is no coincidence, that collectively, we don’t, in states like Georgia, pay for the healthcare needs we mandate in the laws we pass.
Many of us live in states like California, New York, and Massachusetts, where we have laws that are much more “liberal” than those in states like Georgia. We all have an opportunity to talk more and get involved more—to do better—and that’s especially those of us who don’t have to worry as immediately about the women and birthing people in our own lives who live with us!
To do better, we must first talk to each other. Without those critical conversations, no action will be possible, and with no action from men, no change will be possible.
🔊👂🏽 Podcast Power Listen:
“The New Civil War Over Reproduction”: Episode 174 of the “Broken Law” podcast
32 minutes
From their website: Far from satisfied with Dobbs, the antiabortion movement is energized and taking aim at their next objective - fetal personhood. Mary Ziegler, author of Personhood: The New Civil War over Reproduction, joins Lindsay Langholz to discuss the antiabortion movement’s historical aims, where they are focused three years after the fall of Roe v. Wade, and how President Trump’s second term factors into those plans.
💸 Amazing Organization to Support:
Patient Forward is “the only national strategy and advocacy organization focused specifically on eliminating barriers for people seeking abortion care later in pregnancy.” Remember the words of Jessica Valenti — “no ‘compromise’ on abortion” — and support this amazing organization to the best of your ability!
📚 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!
Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty, by Dorothy Roberts
Originally published December 29, 1998; notes below from Bookshop.org page.
Killing the Black Body remains a rallying cry for education, awareness, and action on extending reproductive justice to all women. It is as crucial as ever, even two decades after its original publication.
"A must-read for all those who claim to care about racial and gender justice in America." —Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow
In 1997, this groundbreaking book made a powerful entrance into the national conversation on race. In a media landscape dominated by racially biased images of welfare queens and crack babies, Killing the Black Body exposed America’s systemic abuse of Black women’s bodies. From slave masters’ economic stake in bonded women’s fertility to government programs that coerced thousands of poor Black women into being sterilized as late as the 1970s, these abuses pointed to the degradation of Black motherhood—and the exclusion of Black women’s reproductive needs in mainstream feminist and civil rights agendas.
Other books we’ve read, and strongly recommend:
Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win, by Jessica Valenti
Published October 1, 2024. 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.
***Please also consider supporting Jessica Valenti’s up-to-the-minute and incredibly important journalism (“Abortion Every Day”) by subscribing to her Substack!
Ejaculate Responsibly: A Whole New Way to Think About Abortion, by Gabrielle Blair
Published in 2022. In Ejaculate Responsibly, Gabrielle Blair offers a provocative reframing of the abortion issue in post-Roe America.
Comics for Choice, ed. Newlevant, Taylor, and Fox
2nd edition published 2023. Comics for Choice is anthology of comics about abortion. Cartoonists and illustrators have teamed up with activists, historians, and reproductive justice experts to create comics about their diverse personal stories, the history of abortion, the current politics, and more.
You’re the Only One I’ve Told: The Stories Behind Abortion, by Dr. Meera Shah
Published September 1, 2020. At a time where reproductive rights are at risk, these vital stories of diverse individuals serve as a reminder of the importance of empathy, finding community and motivating advocacy.
Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organize for Reproductive Justice, by Silliman, Gerber Fried, Ross, and Gutiérrez
Published May 10, 2016. Undivided Rights captures the evolving and largely unknown activist history of women of color organizing for reproductive justiceon their own behalf. Undivided Rights presents a textured understanding of the reproductive rights movement by placing the experiences, priorities, and activism of women of color in the foreground.
Reproductive Justice: An Introduction, by Loretta J. Ross and Rickie Solinger
Published March 21, 2017. Reproductive Justice is a first-of-its-kind primer that provides a comprehensive yet succinct description of the field. Written by two legendary scholar-activists, Reproductive Justice introduces students to an intersectional analysis of race, class, and gender politics.
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.
