What is We Withhold

& Why it started.          

We Withhold is a movement of radical refusal.

It began with a truth too many of us carry alone: we are exhausted from giving everything to a world that gives too little back. Our labor. Our love. Our safety. Our fertility. Our voices. Our votes.

We are legislated, violated, underpaid, and unseen. And still, the world keeps demanding more.

This movement was not born from anger alone, but from a long-held knowing: if women stopped giving, the world would stop turning.

We Withhold is not a brand. It is a boundary.
A protest. A pause. A collective recalibration of power.

It is a refusal to keep supporting systems that exploit us - and a decision to step back together, not in silence, but in strategy.

The movement is grounded in four pillars of withholding: Reproductive Refusal, Labor Withdrawal, Economic Disruption, and Emotional Reclamation.

Each one targets a system that has historically depended on our compliance. When we withhold together, the impact becomes impossible to ignore.

This is not just a campaign. It is a movement.
And withholding is our power.

The four pillars of refusal.

We Withhold is not just one act of protest - it is a framework for collective withdrawal.
Each pillar represents a targeted form of resistance, designed to expose and interrupt the systems that rely on women’s unpaid, unprotected, and undervalued contributions.

These four areas are where our absence holds the most power:

Reproductive Refusal

We withhold our fertility from a system that cannot guarantee safety, access, or autonomy. Until pregnancy is a protected choice and not a political gamble, we step back.

Labor Withdrawal

We stop giving the emotional, domestic, and workplace labor that keeps families, industries, and institutions running. This includes unpaid care, invisible support, and undercompensated work.

Economic Disruption

We redirect or withhold our spending from the corporations, markets, and systems that rely on our dollars while refusing to protect our rights. Our buying power is massive, and our absence will be felt.

Emotional Reclamation

We reclaim our energy, intimacy, and emotional support. We stop nurturing relationships, connections, and roles that do not honor our worth. That includes withholding romantic engagement, sex, and emotional labor from those who benefit without reciprocating.

The petition.

This is our collective demand. It is a public record of refusal.

By signing the petition, you are joining a growing body of women, womb-bearers, and allies who are no longer willing to remain silent while reproductive rights collapse across the United States.

We are calling for immediate federal protections for emergency pregnancy care, miscarriage intervention, and legal access to life-saving reproductive services. This petition is not a symbolic gesture. It is a pressure campaign with a purpose.

Here’s what will happen:
• Every signature builds strength as we present this demand to lawmakers, public health officials, and media outlets
• The petition will be submitted to elected representatives, human rights organizations, and journalists so they can no longer ignore the scale of this crisis
• These signatures also serve as a measure of public support. The more names we gather, the more visibility, credibility, and urgency we can generate

This is only the beginning.
We are creating a documented resistance. It starts with your name.

The pledge.

The pledge is a personal act of resistance.

It asks a direct question: What are you willing to withhold until women are safe, free, and fully respected?

This is not performative. It is practical. By taking the pledge, you are making a conscious decision about where to stop giving and start reclaiming.

People are pledging in different ways:
• Refusing to give birth in states where reproductive care is no longer safe
• Walking away from unpaid domestic and emotional labor that is taken for granted
• Choosing not to date, marry, or engage sexually with men who do not honor equality
• Stopping consumer spending with companies that fail to support women’s rights
• Reclaiming time, energy, and boundaries in all areas of life

When thousands of people take this pledge, we are not just sending a message. We are disrupting the system and shifting the culture.

Your pledge is private unless you choose to share it. You may be invited to join future campaigns, storytelling opportunities, or collective actions. This is your personal commitment. This is how movements grow.

Why it matters.        

Reproductive Health Is in Crisis.

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, women’s lives have been caught in the crossfire of politics, confusion, and fear. In many states, reproductive healthcare has collapsed - and the consequences are deadly.

  • Maternal mortality in the United States is the highest of any developed nation. As of 2021, there were 32.9 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Black women are dying at two to three times the rate of white women.
    (Source: CDC, 2023)

  • Infant mortality has increased in states with abortion bans. Nationally, it rose by 3 percent in 2022 - the first increase in 20 years - with even sharper spikes in states enforcing strict bans.
    (Source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, 2023)

  • One in 50 pregnancies is ectopic, a life-threatening condition that requires emergency medical intervention. In some states, doctors now hesitate to act due to unclear abortion laws and fear of legal consequences.
    (Source: March of Dimes, 2023)

  • One in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage, but in states with bans, women are being turned away or forced to wait until they are hemorrhaging before care is given.
    (Source: Mayo Clinic, 2022)

This is not just a political issue. It is a medical emergency.
When we say we withhold, we are saying: our lives are not collateral damage.

Women Hold Up the System. And We Can Step Back.

Women are not just affected by broken systems. We are the ones keeping them running.

  • Women influence 70 to 85 percent of all consumer spending. In the United States alone, our collective buying power exceeds 7.8 trillion dollars.
    (Source: Forbes, 2023)

  • Women perform 75 percent of unpaid domestic and caregiving labor globally, including cooking, cleaning, caretaking, and emotional support.
    (Source: UN Women, 2020)

  • Women make up 47 percent of the U.S. labor force, and we dominate critical sectors:

    • 80 percent of healthcare workers

    • 76 percent of public school teachers

    • The majority of social workers, support staff, and emotional laborers
      (Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022; National Center for Education Statistics, 2023)

When we step back, the system feels it.
If we stop spending, markets respond.
If we stop laboring, industries slow.
If we stop reproducing, entire infrastructures must adapt.

This is not a symbolic protest. It is a disruption of the foundation society is built on - the unpaid and undervalued work of women.

The Vision Forward.

We have already seen what happens when women step back. These are not hypotheticals. These are real outcomes. The cracks in the system widen. The silence grows louder. The economy stutters. Families, industries, and governments feel the absence of our labor, our love, and our willingness to give.

But this movement is not only about what we stop giving.
It is about what we are choosing to rebuild.

We imagine a world where:

  • Reproductive care is accessible, protected, and treated as non-negotiable

  • Pregnancy is a choice, not a risk

  • Care work is recognized, valued, and shared

  • Safety is assumed, not earned through silence

  • Consent is sacred and respected

  • Women are no longer the default providers of unpaid and unacknowledged labor

We are not boycotting life.
We are refusing to carry it alone.

We Withhold is more than a protest. It is a cultural shift. A quiet revolution rooted in clarity, rage, and love.

This is not about isolation. It is about alignment.
We are not waiting for the world to change.
We are becoming the change - together.